Shoutout to the very talented E.J. Tangonan, who designed the incredible poster used in the thumbnail. You can find and follow him here: patreon.com/ejtangonan

I love how Tommy Lee told Jim Carey that he couldn’t “sanction his baffoonery” yet Tommy lees take on two face was the silliest stupidest thing he’s EVER done😂

Micheal Keaton is such a classy/cool dude. The fact that he popped his head in a movie theater to watch Batman forever only to realize he made the right choice is such a baller move.

Burton’s Batman also inspired the art style of the Animated Series which till today remains the greatest animated show of all time.

I believe that Billy Dee Williams would have have made a great Two Face and it would have been nice to have seen Robin Williams play the Riddler.

Thinking about Pfieffer's return, and William's potential as the Riddler is so unfortunate. Burton's third film could've been phenomenal

Batman Returns is hands down my favorite live action Batman film. It’s like sitting down and having the best fever dream ever.

I still laugh when Tim Burton says "I upset McDonald's"

Tim Burton and Batman Returns was criminally under appreciated at that time

Tim burton was seriously ahead of the superhero game! His dark elements would have passed in modern days based on the dark tone of the recent Batman films.

Keaton and Pfeiffer's chemistry in Returns was impeccable and it's a damn shame they didn't keep Burton to finish up the trilogy and give this series the proper conclusion it deserved.

Batman returns is such a banger. Very surprised it wasn’t well received at the time, both of my parents and grand parents made sure to show it to me when I was young.

the tone and atmosphere of Tim's Batman is unmatched, when you re-watch those 2 films you're transported to that exact time and place. That dark, gritty atmosphere coupled with the brilliant soundtrack, Gotham felt truly alive, getting chills just thinking about it

It's MINDBLOWING that people don't like Batman Returns. It's literally the best of the four. My god.

If I could go to another universe and see any movie that never was… Tim Burton’s Batman Forever would be the movie

Batman Returns was amazing ! As a kid I was fascinated and as an adult I love the story even more!

Just watched Batman Forever a few weeks ago. It's still an entertaining fun movie with an underrated performance by Val Kilmer.

I would’ve never thought Robin Williams was considered to be the Riddler, I’m so mad that never came to be. It probably could’ve been the one of the biggest highlights his career.

Robin Williams spouting out riddles the way he does standup would have been great to see!

Tim Burtons vision of Gotham and Batman was amazing. I remember seeing them when i was a kid and being enchanted. The next one was just ok.

An absolutely terrifying Robin Williams Riddler could have led to what super hero flicks need now: stronger horror elements.

From where I'm standing, the backlash against Batman Returns seems to have been completely unwarranted. Was it dark? Sure. But was it that much more dark than Batman? Maybe the first film had a somewhat lighter tone in places, but it also took itself very seriously as it wrestled with Batman's trauma over his parents' death. It also had Joker falling into a vat of acid after having a bullet ricocheted through his face, after which he maimed and/or murdered right and left with electrocution, toxins, poison gas, etc. It doesn't seem that Batman Returns was that much more of a stretch, at least in terms of violence - but it did come at the very time when overreacting parents organizations were starting to attain a unprecedented power to censure material which supposedly was aimed at kids. Burton should never have been kicked from the project.

Not only is Batman Returns my favorite Batman movie, it’s also one of my favorite Christmas movies. I loved the tone and the performances and score are amazing. I also think Daniel Waters the screenwriter of Returns doesn’t get enough credit. It’s funny and dark, which still holds up today. Like his Heathers script.

Tim was lightyears ahead of the times. Even with the age I would love to see Tim take on Batman and Nick Cage Superman in a single movie .

People didn't like Batman Returns? What!? It's the best out of all the originals. I always wished we would have had a third. Michelle was also the best Catwoman hands down. I would've loved to see her own movie.

I know I said this in the other video, but I love the idea of Tim Burton directing his third film now, as a send off to Keatons Batman, but also a deep exploration to his origins as a character. Plus, it'd be great to see Burtons vision of Gotham again: dark, yes, but also gothic, pulpy and fun and imaginative. Nowadays, superhero movies are dark, but also bland and realistic. Where's the wonder? And imagination? That's what Tim Burton brought: a perfect balance of tone to the story.... It doesn't seem like Burtons interested, but it's fun to think about. With a great script, it could be the next Top Gun Maverick kind of movie!

Batman 89 was dark and violent also. Not sure why Returns caught so much backlash. Also I really wanted to see Billy Dee Williams as two face. That would have been so cool and smooth.

It was great to see Michael Keaton back as Batman in the flash! He really lifted the movie!

Michael Keaton was the best Batman ever. It was amazing seeing him reprise the role one more time in the Flash movie.

I absolutely love Tim Burton's early stuff, and Batman 89' is by far my favorite Batman movie, but Batman Forever also has a special place in my heart. I'm glad it exists.

Kids saw Robocop in the theater with their parents, kids saw Predator in the theater as well. My point is that kids saw alot of things that they probably shouldn't of when you were born in the 70's and grew up in the 80's. Even animated films for kids from the 80's which were rated G were very adult. The studio should of stuck with Tim Burton.

I've heard from a few sources that the reason Tommy Lee Jones hammed it up so much was because he originally thought he was going to be playing The Riddler! He was trying to outshine Jim Carey because he got the role TLJ wanted and apparently was incredibly difficult with Jim on set, going so far as to tell him he hated him and outright ignoring him most of the time.

Williams subtle impression of Nicholson was amazing

Gotta give Joel Schumacher credit. He apologized for essentially making a Batman movie that others and the studio wanted and not what he wanted. Not a lot of directors now days take ownership for bad movies but instead blame audiences.

As a kid, I absolutely loved Batman Returns and preferred it over '89 because it was darker and more gothic. It almost feels like a black & white movie with very little colour. Classic Tim Burton. As an adult, it still holds up and still my favourite from the original series of films. I haven't watched it since the 90's though, so must give it another look. On top of that, in the current climate of prequels and sequels with aging characters/stars, there's no reason WB couldn't at least have a "look" at maybe giving Burton the opportunity to make his third and final film even after all these years. I'm sure Keaton and Pfeiffer would be down. It would just be a case of figuring the villain. It would certainly be an interesting approach and challenge.

Batman forever is not forgettable at all, it’s one of my favorite movies I like that a lot more than returns

Batman Continues is not a better title than Batman Forever

I’m surprised everyone was so shocked Returns was a “dark” film, given 89 had several pretty disturbing scenes as well. For crying out loud, we get a lengthy shot of Joker’s lifeless body in the finale.

Batman '89 was not even remotely a kid friendly film, the executives are to blame here, noone else. Such a shame.

Catwoman not getting her own film with Michelle is a bigger crime than anything else here honestly. She was gold as Catwoman, the best part of Batman Returns

I'm not from America, we watched batman and batman returns as kids and that was great, nobody get any mental injures, the entourage and atmosphere of the film absolutely overwhelmed any negative effect of even the most violent scenes, we absolutely understood that we were watching a film that was as untethered to reality, as a theatrical production, it's the magic of Burton's films that contributes to it. I'm 100% sure, that some "lion king" has done more mental damage to kids than Burton's Batman.

The score of Returns is a masterwork.

Even though the actual Batman Forever is a guilty pleasure of mine, I do think it would’ve been awesome if Burton had directed it.

I remember seeing the 2nd movie with my parents in the theater when I was super young… even though it was more gruesome than the 1st, I still loved it!!

It brings tears to my eyes when I think about how amazing it would have been to see Robin Williams in a Batman movie. Warner Brothers have made so many mistakes over the years. They really missed out on a massive opportunity to put Robin Williams against Batman.

I just watched from Batman to Batman Forever for the first time in I guess 25 years. I was surprised how well the first two movies stood the test of time, in fact I think I now as an adult like them even more than I did as a child. Batman Forever though was a chore, an absolute horrendous movie, I could barely get through the whole thing. But here's the thing, as a kid I remember seeing the first 2 movies maybe once or twice, but I distinctly remember recording Batman Forever to VHS and watching it over and over and over. As a kid I really loved that shit, and Jim Carrey was in his prime. So despite me now, as an adult, hating this movie, I don't think it deserves the flack it gets at all. They made the first two movies for adults and they made the third movie for kids, as simple as that. Kid me loved it.

Watching Flash all I could think was how unfair it was we never got a third Keaton movie.

Robin Williams as the Riddler looks like it could have been really fun !

Funny how parents thought Max Shreck getting electrocuted to death was too dark for children, but in Batman 89, Joker shocked that one mafia guy to death, and for like a whole minute, they showed his charred corpse.

Would have been cool to see more of Michelle Pfeifer.

As far as I'm concerned, BTAS and Mask of the Phantasm helped fill in the void left by the cancellation of Tim Burton's third Batman movie, as did Kevin Conroy's performance filling in for Michael Keaton's. Now all these years later, it feels like Keaton finally returning to play Batman again helps fill in the void left by Kevin's passing (RIP), even if it is just gonna be for the Flash movie now with all these DCU reboot plans. Maybe Tim and Keaton will be able to make a Batman Beyond movie after Beetlejuice 2?

It would’ve been sick to see a Burton trilogy

Batman forever is NOT forgotten. For 2 years, that movie was everything when I was a kid.

The novelization of Batman Forever showed how great the script was before it was lightened up. It begins with Harvey, Batman, and Gordon together right after the events of Returns taking on a far more serious story in tradition of the first two films.

I would pay 3x the price of a movie ticket or blu-ray to see Tim Burton do his take on “the Dark knight Returns” in present day with Keaton as an aged Batman.

Siskel nailed it when he said 'I liked it while I was watching it, and as soon as it was over, it didn't mean anything to me, and as the day's have gone on, it means even less if that's possible'. I felt the same

I remember watching Batman Returns on tv when I was a child. I was horrified! Now that I'm an adult. I've watched it again. It was still scary. Mainly due to the music.

Billy Dee Williams as Two Face Robin Williams as Riddler What a travesty these 2 beloved actors are never given the chance to be part of a masterpiece that could hv been.

Batman Returns is my absolute favourite Batman movie.

As a young boy in that time who watched the animated series and read the comics, I loved Batman and Batman Returns. I was heartbroken with what Batman movies became throughout the 90s.

#TimBurton is a legend. I love watching his material. A very talented and wonderful man.

I miss Robin Williams so much, seeing him as a comic book villain like the Joker or the Riddler would have been such a treasure.

This is a heart wrenching video of what could’ve been and the missed potential, especially seeing what we got.

Batman Continues sounded like it would've been awesome!

I loved Batman Returns. It’s still my fav Batman movie of all time even with the Nolan trilogy. I would’ve loved to have seen Keaton, Pfieffer and Dee Williams return and Robin Williams as The Riddler in Tim Burton’s version of the third movie. Also it’s such a shame we never got to hear Danny Elfman’s score for the third movie…

I have heard that Robin Williams was in talks about playing the Riddler years ago but I never knew he talked about it directly in an interview 🤯 Also Michelle Pfeiffer in Batman Returns in that latex catsuit is what made realize very early in my life that I like girls yet every girl I have ever met since has only disappointed in comparison.

I’d love to see Keaton and Burton team up again and do an older Batman movie.

Batman returns is a masterpiece. Forever is forgettable. Glad Nolan gave us magic in 3.

That Time Burton quote is gold.

Initially I thought Williams would've been too wholesome to pull off the Riddler. But then they reminded me of his One Hour Photo performance. What a range that man had.

Thank you so much for putting all these sources together. I've always been a fan of the making of the potential Batman films we never got and this was so facinating to see.

There is a lot truth with some of the things you mentioned, The Internet likes to make up that Burton was going to title it "Batman Continues" with Pfeiffer returning as Catwoman, or Scarecrow as the fourth villain, or Billy Dee Williams returning as Two Face. There was never even a script or treatment. Unlike Sam Raimi with Spider-Man 4, you'd think Tim Burton would give insight about his ideas for Batman 3 like the flashback plot idea, but every time he's asked that, it's always the same answer; He had one meeting with WB and things went south. The plot you summarized was actually Keaton's idea for where the series could go but, that's the thing, it was just an idea but not the official direction Burton was aiming for. The original writers for the then titled "Batman III", Lee, and Janet Scott Batchler were hired AFTER Burton left to work with Schumacher, and if you read their script, or listen to their interviews, they would tell you there was no Catwoman returning, and becoming a anti-hero, no love triangle plot with Chase, or anything like that. Meaning, Dr. Chase Meridian was a character created for Schumacher's Batman. It was their idea of having Robin, and Schumacher for adding Two Face as they originally just wanted The Riddler. (With Tommy Lee Jones being Schumacher's casting choice.) The unused Keaton Batsuits don't look too similar to the ones we ended up with either, besides the nipples. And the only reason why Burton was credited as producer was mainly because of his involvement in hiring the Bachelor's. People also just shove Marlon Wayne's as he was originally cast as Robin in Batman Returns, and Billy Dee Williams already cast in Batman '89. They're all made stuff. The Catwoman spinoff film was the closest to Burton's continuing the Batman world, and unlike his Batman 3, there was actually a script by Daniel Waters in 1995 that you can read. And no, it does not have her continue on as an anti-hero as you mentioned. It retcons the ending of Returns by saying Selina was sent to the hospital from the bullets.

6:26 hahaha one of the reasons I love Keaton, he just loves this and his fans that manic energy

Burrons comment on the nipples was hilarious 😂 Also, seeing Schumachers' apology to anyone who didn't enjoy batman forever is great. You gotta at least respect him for that!

Tim Burton's third Batman movie sounds like it would have been brilliant. I loooooove Michael Keaton as Batman and Michelle Pfeiffer's Catwoman, in my opinion is the best. When you hear about what could have been, compared to what we actually got with the Schumacher films, awwww it's like a kick in the nuts. More Catwoman and a third Keaton Batman sounds fantastic 😢

I would love to see Tim Burtons take on a Catwoman solo film.

I would happily sacrifice all three of Nolan's Batman films for a third of Burton's Batman. But an interesting take on what could have been :)

Last week I watched The Flash. Michael Keaton was superb and seeing him back as Batman is probabky the only reason to watch this movie. It should really have been a Batman movie with The Flash as the supporting character.

Jim Henson and tim burton are gods!

6:02 - that's hilarious how he does Nicholson's voice in that clip

Man that footage of the merchandising form both movies brought back strong feelings from when I was a kid. This may be sad but I was completely swept up in the craze of merchandising during and after both Tim Burton movies. I remember after the first Burton's Batman came out on VHS there was a promo for the merchandising before the film presented by Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck. Unbelievably, my parents had pressed pause and my father went to the telephone to call the 1 800 number I think to buy a tie. No idea. Unfortunately after about 10 mins or so he never got through. As a kid I was obsessed with the 'magic', let's say, and or the world the Tim Burton had created. No one had seen anything like it. I think I was maybe 6 or 7 when I saw the first one in theaters. When I saw the batcave playset in a catalogue I just about lost my mind. Still my favorite two Batmans. I never was fully sold with Batman Begins and successive films. However, I really would have liked to have seen a stand alone Ben Affleck film partly because I enjoyed the stylized and sort of surreal world they had taken from Miller's comic books.

Tim Burton is the reason anyone likes Batman today. Back before those original movies Batman was considered stupid and corny.

Batman Returns is my favorite Batman due to its dark nature that was truer to the comics, how character driven it was, and because of Keaton and Pfeiffer, whose performances were so great they easily rank as the best Batman and Catwoman. Keaton was the perfect choice for the Wayne/Batman's duality, the violence raging just beneath the aloof, often funny and quirky exterior. He nailed that so well. And Pfeiffer, oh damn, the same. Batman Continues would have been sooooo stellar. I'm really unsure why parents and McDonalds thought Batman Returns would be family friendly, though. The first Batman certainly wasn't.

Great video!!! Thank you for making and sharing it!!!

I’m gonna get a tattoo that reads “Batman Continues.” And write that down in my friends yearbook

My god, can you imagine how good Robin Williams would have been as the riddler?

Batman returns is in the top 3 bat movies. Danny, Michael, and Michelle were spectacular.

As much as I love, love Jim Carrey as The Riddler I would have loved to see what Robin Williams would have done with the role

Another great vid! Never watched forever, though putting together what could've been with continues is fascinating!

I'm not sure if it's true but I watched a video about Batman Returns and they said that the reason Billy D. Williams was replaced by the Max Shrek-character was because the studio opposed the idea of a black Two-Face.

I wouldn't change Batman Forever at all, it's one of my favorites, despite being really out there Tommy Lee Jones surprised me with his energy because I believe he was in his fifties at that time and Jim Carrey was just hilarious as the Riddler.

That poster on the thumbnail looks amazing

Robin Williams not playing the Riddler is one of the superhero genre's greatest miscastings. Robin was hilarious, but the man had an absolute black, serious streak beneath his humor that would have made it a career defining role.

Batman Returns is definitely my favorite of the Burton Batman films.

I watched Batman Returns as a child, nothing was getting in my way

I watched Batman Returns with my late dad as a 7 year old, that was first biggest cinematic experience.

But we can't discredit Jim Carrey's epic role in bringing so much life in humor to Batman forever 😂

Keaton did not ask for $50 million he didn’t want to return to the role because he didn’t like the script and the campy direction of the third movie. He was offered $35 million and said no.

I agree with all of this. Did not know a lot about what happened behind the scenes as to why things were what they were but this was the closure I needed. Thank you.

Tim Burtons quote followed by Keatons grin at 4:30...I lost it 🤣🤣🤣