Batman Forever

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The Dark Knight of Gotham City confronts a dastardly duo: Two-Face and the Riddler. Formerly District Attorney Harvey Dent, Two-Face incorrectly believes Batman caused the courtroom accident which left him disfigured on one side; he has unleashed a reign of terror on the good people of Gotham. Edward Nygma, computer-genius and former employee of millionaire Bruce Wayne, is out to get the philanthropist; as The Riddler he perfects a device for draining information from all the brains in Gotham, including Bruce Wayne's knowledge of his other identity. Batman/Wayne is/are the love focus of Dr. Chase Meridan. Former circus acrobat Dick Grayson, his family killed by Two-Face, becomes Wayne's ward and Batman's new partner Robin the Boy Wonder.

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Brad Dourif was considered for the role of the Riddler.

Mark Hamill (who voiced the Joker in the "Batman" (1992) animated series) was briefly considered for Riddler.

While learning to twirl a cane, Jim Carrey reportedly broke around a dozen prop canes and some of his trailer furniture.

The Robin costume weighed 41 lbs.

Dick Grayson suggests "Nightwing" for a hero name; an in-joke for the comic books, where Dick Grayson now appears as Nightwing, an identity he took after he abandoned the Robin costume in 1980s.

In the film there is a doctor named Burton. Tim Burton directed the first two Batman films and produced this sequel.

At one moment, to Batman's surprise, Robin exclaims: "Holey rusted metal, Batman!", then explaining: "The ground, it's all metal. It's full of holes. You know, holey" - a jokey reference to the old US TV show "Batman" with Adam West, where Robin would yell his trademark exclamations of surprise every once in a while: "Holy something-or-other, Batman!".

Will Shortz, "puzzlemaster" on National Public Radio and editor of the NY Times crossword puzzle, created the Riddler's riddles.

The scratches on the tails side of Two-Face's coin form the letters HD, the initials of Harvey Dent, Two-Face's former identity.

Elizabeth Sanders, who plays Gossip Gerty, is the widow of Bob Kane, the man who created the Batman character.

The design of the Flying Graysons' costumes was a reference to the red, yellow and green spandex that Robin wears currently in the comic books.

Early concepts of the final showdown on Claw Island had a huge, muscled, Riddler sitting on his throne when Batman finds him. The Riddler twists the two skulls on his armrests and the Riddler's muscled body is revealed to be a shell which splits in two, from which the real Riddler (wearing his white and green jumpsuit) steps out. This description made it into the junior novelization of the movie by Alan Grant, and was also featured in the video game based on the movie.

In Canada, the French version of the Riddler's name is Le Sphinx.

Chris O'Donnell's sister can be seen directly behind him in the party scene where Robin is first introduced to the public

In the movie, there is a scene where Two Face keeps flipping his coin until he gets a result he wants. In the comics, a key element of his split personality is that he unquestioningly accepts the result of a single coin toss concerning any decision he makes.

When Dick Grayson (Chris O'Donnell) drives the Batmobile around Gotham, a McDonald's restaurant can be seen in one of the shots. Director Joel Schumacher put it in the background, despite pressure from McDonald's to have it more visible.

Rene Russo was originally cast to play Dr. Chase Meridian when Michael Keaton was still attached to the project as Batman. However, when Keaton dropped out of the project and was replaced by Val Kilmer, Russo was deemed to old to play his love interest and was replaced by Nicole Kidman.

Alec Baldwin was almost cast as Batman.

Tom Hanks was the first choice to replace Michael Keaton as Batman.

Before deciding not to don the cape and cowl for a third time, Michael Keaton met with Joel Schumacher and declined to join the project after deciding that he did not like the direction in which Schumacher was looking to take the franchise. In the brief time that Tim Burton was still considering doing a third Batman film, Riddler was the only villain that he planned on using. The idea of using Two-Face did not come up until Joel Schumacher joined the project.

In the original Batman (1989), District Attorney Harvey Dent was played by Billy Dee Williams. Williams accepted the role with the knowledge and expectation that Dent would eventually become Two-Face: he reportedly had a clause put into his contract reserving the role for him in any sequels, which Warner Bros. had to buy out so they could cast Tommy Lee Jones.

Chase remarks about "Or do I need skin tight vinyl and a whip", an obvious reference to the film's prequel's character "Catwoman".

When left at Wayne Manor, Grayson informs Wayne that he is leaving. To this, Bruce replies that the circus would be halfway to Metropolis, which is the city of Superman.

The movie was going to be shot in Cincinnati, using the old subway tunnel. The exterior of the Gotham City Hippodrome (the arena where Dick Grayson's family is killed) is based on the exterior of Union Terminal, a famous 1930's Art Deco train station in Cincinnati.

The role of the security guard Two-Face captures was written for Wayne Knight, who was expected to accept it.

The exterior set for Two Face's hide out is the same set used in the first disappearance of Max Schreck (Christopher Walken) in Batman Returns (1992).

Exterior scenes of Wayne Manor were filmed at the Webb Institute of Naval Architecture on Long Island, NY. The production team had to change the school's "W" on the entrance gate because it had an anchor behind it.

Joel Schumacher's decision to put nipples on the Bat-costumes and an earring on Robin caused controversy - it even bothered Batman creator Bob Kane. Schumacher said he wanted the costumes to have an anatomic look, while the earring was supposed to make Robin more hip.

Actors Kimberly Scott (Bruce's assistant) and Michael Paul Chan (a worker at Wayne Enterprises) came back for Batman & Robin (1997), but in different roles, playing scientists at the Gotham Observatory. Joel Schumacher frequently uses them in his movies.

Michael Worth tested for the role of Robin.

Olympic gymnast Mitchell Gaylord was a stunt double for Chris O'Donnell.

Val Kilmer learned he was the new Batman while he was literally in a bat cave in Africa, doing research for another project. He accepted the role without reading the script. Val Kilmer and Joel Schumacher clashed frequently on the set. At one point, Schumacher had what he describes as a "shoving match" with Kilmer. 25 minutes of the film were digitally color corrected at 2K resolution - a very early example of digital grading for motion pictures.

Mel Gibson was offered the role of Harvey Dent/Two Face, but was forced to turn it down due to scheduling conflicts with Braveheart (1995).

John McTiernan was Warner Brothers first choice to direct the film, but he had to turn it down because he was busy working on Die Hard: With a Vengeance.

Christian Bale, Corey Feldman, Corey Haim, and Matt Damon all auditioned for the role of Dick Grayson/Robin.

The Scarecrow was originally going to make a cameo appearance but was scrapped because there where too many villains.

Scott Speedman tried out for the role of Robin

The scene where Dick Grayson sorts and dries his laundry using kung-fu moves was taken shot-by-shot from a similar scene in the Hong Kong film Yong zhe wu ju (1981) (aka "Dreadnaught").

After seeing him in this film, record producer George Martin approached Jim Carrey about performing the song "I am the Walrus" for his Beatles tribute album "In My Life". Carrey accepted.

Joel Schumacher had asked Bono of U2 to reprise his role of Macphisto that he played during the band's ZOOTV tour, but Bono denied, saying that when ZOOTV ended so did Macphisto, so instead U2 contributed the song "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me" to the soundtrack.

Leonardo DiCaprio screen tested for the role of Robin.

After Tim Burton stepped down as director, Sam Raimi (then a popular "cult" director) offered his services to the studio. He never got the job because the studio felt he wasn't a big enough name. Raimi went on to become a big name by directing Spider-Man (2002) and Spider-Man 2 (2004).

The character Dr. Chase Meridian was given her first name as a pun, since she spends most of the film chasing after Batman.

Robin Williams was approached for the role of the Riddler, but he refused to consider the role unless Warner Bros. apologized for its previous behavior in casting the Joker. See the trivia for Batman (1989).

After the Batmobile rides up the wall to escape from Two-Face, there was going to be a car chase on the rooftops of Gotham. Due to time and money constraints, this idea was scrapped and used in the next film, Batman & Robin (1997)

The Batmobile was usually driven by stunt drivers, but 'Chris O'Donnell (I)' insisted on driving it himself in the joyride scene - but he crashed it into a curb and dented a fender.

Reportedly, the role of Robin was narrowed down to two finalists: Chris O'Donnell and Leonardo DiCaprio. In order to decide who should get the role, the producers went to a comic book convention and asked groups of 11 year old boys (the target audience of the film) who would win a fight between the two actors. O'Donnell was overwhelmingly chosen by the boys as the winner of the fight and ultimately he won the role.

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The original cut shown in previews was too long, and a large sequence in the Batcave, explaining much of the plot including the Batman Forever title, was edited out. The original opening sequence depicted TwoFace's escape from Arkham Asylum. Dr. Burton arrives at TwoFace's cell to find the ceiling blown away and the words: "The Bat Must Die" written on a wall. This scene was shot but cut. The original opening can be partially seen in the U2 music video "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me". In it the infamous "THE BAT MUST DIE" line is shown for a second written in a wall with bloody white letters.

# UK video version omits the scene where Edward Nygma takes off the brainwave-hat of his boss. UK video version also omits some of the action at the end.

In total, the UK version was cut by 1m 38s, and also had sound effects toned down.

In the UK trailers for the film there is a line of dialogue that does not appear anywhere in the film. The dialogue is "I love to party. Ha, ha, ha" said by TwoFace from his helicopter, yet this scene is nowhere to be seen.

Many scens were included in preview screenings that would have made the film darker and more understandable:
* The longer opening with Two-Face's escape from Arkham.
* Longer dialogue between Alfred and Bruce Wayne as he shoots through the tunnel from Wayne enterprises to the Batcave.
* After the Riddler tries to punch the security guard at the casino and fails, he picks up his cane and beats the guard to the ground with it.
* Alfred and Bruce examining one of Edward Nygma's boxes in the batcave.
* Extra exterior shots of Nygmatech at night.
* Shots of Dick and Bruce escorting Chase into Edward Nygma's party at the Ritz Gotham.
* The Riddler reading the newspaper headline, "Batman survives subway sabotage" and getting enraged-this would have led in the scene later on where he shows the headline to Two-Face.
* More shots of Robin hitting Two-Face on Claw Island.
* More shots of Bruce and Chase hitting Two-Face`s thugs in Wayne Manor.

In the theatrical version, when Nicole Kidman calls Batman to the roof and Commissioner Gorden interupts them, when Batman walks away she says "Damn it." This one comment was deleted for some reason from all other releases.

Large sequences of the movie were deleted to trim the movie down to two hours. The red journal that was left by Bruce's father contained words that deepened his guilt ("Bruces insists we see a movie tonight...") and made him feel responsible for his parent's death. After Bruce is knocked unconscious during the attack on Wayne Manor, he loses his memory and does not recall ever being Batman, but is haunted by a terrible guilt. To face his fear, Bruce ventures into the heart of the cave where the journal is, and reads the end of the sentence that cleanses his guilt ("but Martha and I have our hearts set on Zorro, so Bruce's movie will have to wait for next week") The giant bat then appears, and Bruce stands eye to eye with it. After his memory returns, Bruce triggers a hidden button that reveals a second layer to the batcave, where the Batwing, Batboat, and the experimental sonar suit were kept (thus explaining why they escaped Riddler's wrath).

After taunting Chase with his neon light-up suit, the Riddler pulls out a long needle and injects her with a drug that knocks her out.

The sequencing of much of the first half of the movie was altered to start the movie off with an action scene. Originally, a scene was supposed to show Two-Face escaping from the asylum. Cut to Bruce visiting his company and rejecting Nygma's invention, then seeing the bat signal and going off to fight Two-Face. (Note that in the theatrical version, there are sirens going off in the distance, when it is supposed to be Chase who sends the signal) The second time Bruce sees the signal, he meets with Chase. On his way back, he is attacked by Two-Face and ends up scaling the wall to escape.

Scenes in which Batman goes to the secret underground tunnel and says a line pertaining to the cave are cut in the video release, but present in the theatrical version.

Recent UK versions are not uncut, every version of Batman Forever released in the UK (whether cinema, video or DVD) is cut by 1m38s. Over 30 cuts were made, the BBFC states recent releases as having "no cuts" simply because the same cut version as before was submitted to them for new releases.