Joel Schumacher Wanted To Do An Arkham Asylum Movie

It’s been 20 years since Warner Bros. dished out Batman & Robin, and fans still haven’t forgiven the studio yet. The movie acted as Joel Schumacher‘s second Batman outing, and fans quickly turned on the feature once it hit theaters. Batman & Robin stands as the lowest grossing live-action Batman to date, and fans loves to hate the feature. Now, The Hollywood Reporter has done an in-depth dive into Batman & Robin, and the piece saw Schumacher confess a surprising Batman fact.

Apparently, Batman & Robin was not the first story choice Schumacher had for the sequel. The director was far more interested in Arkham Asylum as a storyline instead.

“I always wanted to do a whole Arkham movie, and did a scene at the end of Batman Forever when Jim is in a straightjacket and Nicole [Kidman’ comes to see him,” he said. “And it was just a nod to back to Arkham asylum which I love, and I thought it would be fun to put the other villains up there.”

Shortly before Batman & Robin even began filming, rumors ran rampant that Schumacher had wanted to make a very different films about Frank Miller’s Batman: Year One. The director says he didn’t have any kind of script set up about the other story, and Warner Bros. had been insistent he stick with their proposed idea.

“I remember a few journalists calling me and saying, ‘There’s a rumor that you felt you never got to make your Batman movie and that you had a secret script. And that you were going to shoot that.’ Well that’s all fantasy,” he says.

In Schumacher’s Batman & Robin, the film includes one scene which hints at the fan-favorite storyline. Bane and Poison Ivy are seen breaking out Mr. Freeza from Arkham Asylum at one point. The scene also featured iconic costumes for villains like the Riddler and more. The director never got a chance to tackle the story due to the abysmal reception of his Batman takes, but there is always a chance future DC films could tackle the content.

In fact, rumors have persisted for some time now that The Batman may have Arkham Asylum elements. There is little casting to confirm such at this time; Ben Affleck is set to reprise his Batman role, and the only other confirmed casting is Joe Mangeniello as Deathstroke. However, as the DCEU moves forward, it seems increasingly likely the franchise will tackle Arkham Asylum in all its twisted psychological glory.

MORE DC MOVIE NEWS: Why The DCEU Could Win Big in 2017 / Henry Cavill Continues to Tease DCEU Green Lantern / Justice League Cast Member Says It Won’t Be Better Than Marvel’s Avengers

In Justice League, fueled by his restored faith in humanity and inspired by Superman’s selfless act, Bruce Wayne enlists the help of his newfound ally, Diana Prince, to face an even greater enemy. Together, Batman and Wonder Woman work quickly to find and recruit a team of metahumans to stand against this newly awakened threat. But despite the formation of this unprecedented league of heroes—Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Cyborg and The Flash—it may already be too late to save the planet from an assault of catastrophic proportions.

Justice League is directed by Zack Snyder, from a screenplay by Chris Terrio, based on a story by Snyder and Terrio, and stars Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Gal Gadot, Jason Momoa, Ezra Miller, Ray Fisher, Amy Adams, Willem Dafoe, Jesse Eisenberg, Jeremy Irons, Diane Lane, Connie Nielsen, J. K. Simmons, and Ciarán Hinds.

[HT] THR