20 facts you might not know about 'Batman Returns'

Warner Bros. was geared up for a sequel to Batman, but Burton wasn’t interested. He said he would do a sequel if it could be “new and exciting,” but instead he went off to direct Edward Scissorhands, not intending to do a sequel to Batman.

The studio got going on what was then "Batman II” by having Batman screenwriter Sam Hamm get to work on a script. In his screenplay, which he delivered two drafts of, Penguin and Catwoman were seeking hidden treasure. Yes, really.

Eventually, Burton agreed to direct the sequel. However, he sought creative control to make it happen. Burton didn’t like Hamm’s script, so he had Heathers writer Derek Waters work on a whole new screenplay. He also got the first film’s producers, Peter Guber and Jon Peters, brought on board as executive producers.

Billy Dee Williams played Harvey Dent in Batman. As you likely know, Harvey Dent becomes Two-Face. The plan was for that to happen in Batman Returns. Then, Dent was cut from the script completely. Also cut? Robin, who was going to be a mechanic in the movie. Marlon Wayans was cast as Robin, and even had a costume fitting. Then, the character was removed from the screenplay entirely.

Keaton returned as Batman, and for Catwoman, they cast…Annette Bening. Burton had liked her work in The Grifters. Then, Bening got pregnant, and she was not up for such a physically demanding role. Thus, Bening had to drop out of the film.

Several different women tried out for Catwoman after Bening had to drop out, and in the end, Burton gave the role the Michelle Pfeiffer after only one meeting. Before that happened, though, there was the Sean Young event. Young had been cast as Vicki Vale in Batman, before she was replaced by Kim Basinger. Young really wanted to play Catwoman. In fact, she crafted a homemade Catwoman costume and went down to the production offices to demand an audition. It didn’t pan out.

Waters has said he wrote the part of Penguin for Danny DeVito, even though DeVito hadn’t been cast officially. He said he “kind of knew” DeVito would get the part, as it was a “short list” of actors who could viably play the role.

Even though Burton was reportedly afraid of Walken, he still cast him as Max Schreck. That name is a throwback to the German Expressionism films that influenced Burton so much. Schreck is the name of the actor who plays Count Orlok in Nosferatu.

The first choice to play Max Schreck was none other than David Bowie. Ultimately, Bowie turned it down to play a role in the Twin Peaks movie. Walken got the role, and interestingly, it wasn’t the first time they crossed paths. Bowie had also been the first choice for Max Zorin in the Bond movie A View to a Kill, a role that also ultimately went to Walken.

To reprise the role of Batman, Keaton was given the princely sum of $10 million. That was big news at the time, but Burton was vocal about Keaton having earned it. They also made some changes to the Batman costume to make it more comfortable for Keaton. One big thing? Adding a zipper to the pants so Keaton could use the restroom while in the suit.

The original idea was for Burgess Meredith, who played Penguin on the ‘60s Batman show, was going to play Oswald Cobblepot’s father in the movie. Alas, Meredith was too sick to do it. Instead, Paul Reubens took on the role. Burton and Reubens had worked together on Burtons’ first feature, Pee-wee’s Big Adventure.

While Meredith couldn’t make his cameo, his time as Penguin did influence the film. The idea of Penguin running for mayor actually came from a storyline used in the ‘60s TV show in the two-parter “Hizzoner the Penguin” and “Dizzoner the Penguin.”

The studio didn’t want any information on the production and filming of Batman Returns leaked. The art department was required to keep their blinds shut, and even Kevin Costner was barred from set when he asked to visit. Photos of DeVito as Penguin were leaked, and Warner Bros. was so irked they hired a private investigator to find out who did it.

Pfeiffer’s costume as Catwoman is quite iconic, although we should probably say “costumes.” The production went through a lot of those latex catsuits. A whopping 60 of them were used during the movie, each of them costing roughly $1,000.

Pfeiffer trained in kickboxing to prepare for playing Catwoman, but it’s the whip work that really set her apart. The actress learned whip skills that allowed her to do the whip tricks in the film herself. You can see video of her nailing the scene where she whips the mannequins taking during production online. Years later, Pfeiffer would find the whip and post some video of her reacquainting herself on social media.

Penguins’s army of, well, penguins, came to life in all sorts of ways. There were real penguins used: 30 African penguins and 12 king penguins, to be specific. However, they also used CGI penguins, robots, and even men in penguin suits to fill out the menagerie.

There were some that criticized Batman Returns as being too dark. Some of them were parents who thought the movie was inappropriate for children. Which, yeah, it was PG-13, why did these parents think that it would be OK for their kids? That being said, McDonald’s had a Happy Meal promotion for the movie going, and they decided to drop it after the complaints.

The U.S. box office for Batman Returns in its opening weekend was a whopping $45.69 million. While it got off to a hot start, in the end it made $162.9 million in the United States and Canada, making it the third-highest-grossing movie of the year in that region. 

Burton’s sequel picked up two nominations from the Academy Awards. It was nominated for Best Makeup and Best Visual Effects, but won neither. Interestingly, Pfeiffer also got a nomination, but it was for Favorite Movie Actress at the Kids Choice Awards. Who says Batman Returns isn’t for children?

Warner Bros. wanted another Batman movie, but they also wanted to go lighter. Both Burton and Keaton stepped aside at this point, paving the way to Batman Forever starring Val Kilmer. However, in 1993, it was announced that Burton would direct a Catwoman spinoff starring Pfeiffer. Waters wrote a script and turned it in the same day Batman Forever was released. The project languished for years, and Burton, Waters, and Pfeiffer would all drop out. Eventually, it led to the Halle Berry Catwoman fiasco in 2004.