George Clooney avoids talking about Batman & Robin with his son out of embarrᴀssment about his DC role. Out of the many live-action Batman actors, George Clooney has been one of the most unpopular, not because of his performance, but mostly because of the movie’s eccentric take on Batman. After all, Batman & Robin strayed too far from Tim Burton’s Batman and Batman Returns after Batman Forever had already distanced itself from Burton’s unique style. After an eight-year break from live-action Batman movies, DC reinvented the Dark Knight for the big screen with Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins, splitting Batman’s movie history in two.

In an interview with The New York Times, George Clooney recalls mentioning his Batman role to his son. When his son refused to believe him, Clooney chose not to press the point, arguing that his Batman & Robin starring role isn’t something he’s proud of. According to Clooney, his son would “never have respect” for him if he knew his father once played Batman. Clooney says:

“My son’s favorite hero is Batman. I’m like, ‘You know I was Batman.’ He’s like, ‘Not really.’ I go, ‘You have no idea how right you are.’ If he knew that I was that Batman, he’d never have respect for me.”

What George Clooney’s Batman Comment Means

George Clooney Had Little To Work With In Batman & Robin

Joel Schumacher’s Batman Forever and Batman & Robin have gained a cult following since their negative reception in the 1990s. However, George Clooney’s performance is among the least complex of all live-action Batman iterations. Batman and Robin spent too little time building Bruce Wayne and Batman as a character, and instead focused on its lighthearted action and dialog. Batman and Robin is also a sequel to a soft-reboot of Tim Burton’s Batman movies, meaning audiences weren’t attached to Clooney’s portrayal by the time Batman and Robin came out.

George Clooney has been vocal about his disappointment with Batman and Robin. However, Clooney reprised his DC role twenty-six years after his single solo movie in The Flash‘s ending scene, which suggests Ezra Miller’s Barry Allen accidentally replaced the whole DCEU with a timeline where Clooney is Bruce Wayne. It’s unknown whether Clooney’s Bruce Wayne from The Flash is the exact same version as the one who stars in Batman & Robin, though.

Our Take On George Clooney’s Batman Comment

George Clooney’s Batman Isn’t As Bad As The Actor Makes The Character Seem

Although George Clooney’s Batman didn’t have enough chances to stand out in Batman & Robin, his portrayal was serviceable at worst. Clooney is an inspired casting choice for the suave heartthrob Bruce Wayne, and his acting chops prove he could play a three-dimensional Batman effortlessly, with the right script. Unfortunately, the Batman movie franchise was in dire need of a dramatic overhaul at the time, as demonstrated by Christopher Nolan’s revolutionary Batman Begins and The Dark Knight a decade later. Had Clooney played Batman in another DC movie, he probably would hold the character in higher regard.

Source: The New York Times

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