

Things have certainly changed, but Schumacher hasn’t managed to shrug the hollowness dogging the superheroic saga. The sexier Val Kilmer was swiftly ushered in cave left, and it seemed Forever was the perfect opportunity to rediscover the Dark Knight.


No sooner had the series replaced its director when the cape itself was suddenly vacated - creative differences being cited as the nominal excuse for Michael Keaton’s departure. Schumacher’s credentials are encouraging the commercial safety of The Client and The Lost Boys mixed with the darker designs of Falling Down and Flatliners. When Tim Burton declined to pick up the creative tab for the second Batman sequel, Joel Schumacher was considered the ideal man to carry his gothic vision, and, hopefully, pep up a franchise starting to reveal signs of lagging in the commerciality stakes.
