The Weirdest Batman Movie Turns 25

After the massive box-office hit that was 1989's Batman, director Tim Burton returned for its even higher-budget followup, 1992's Batman Returns.

The hype was even more massive this time around. Michael Keaton returned as the Caped Crusader, and this time he was joined by not one, but two of his most famous foes: Danny DeVito's The Penguin, and Michelle Pfeifer's Catwoman.

In honor of its 25th birthday, let's take a look at some of the interesting thing about this movie.

1) Michelle Pfeifer went through 60 catsuits

This was over a 6 month shooting period, apparently costing the studio about $1000 per suit. When asked about the costume, Pfeifer responded that as soon as filming was completed, she never wanted to see it again for the rest of her life.

2) Batman straight up kills a guy.

Yeah. That's Batman, the superhero who insists on never killing anybody, strapping dynamite to an evil circus performer, knocking him down a drain, and walking away from the resulting, definitely fatal explosion.

3) Christopher Walken made Tim Burton uncomfortable

I remind you that Tim Burton is the director of strange, sometimes genuinely creepy films like Beetlejuice and Sleepy Hollow. But no, according to the film's casting director, Tim Burton's comment on Walken was "The man scares the hell out of me."

4) Danny DeVito stayed in character between takes

In an effort to truly manifest the sheer weird grossness of this film's version of The Penguin, Danny DeVito remained in character even when the cameras weren't rolling. I'm sure this didn't unnerve a single cast or crew member at any point.

5) It broke box office records

The film made nearly $44.7 Million in its opening 3 days, which at the time was unprecedented. However, this would soon be beaten with the release of Jurassic Park the year after.

Click to the next page for more facts about Batman Returns!

6) Parents were not happy about it

Despite the film being a huge box office success, Warner Bros. was inundated with letters from angry parents who felt the film was far too dark and cynical for their children. This in turn caused Warner Bros. to replace Burton with Joel Schumacher for the following Batman films, which ultimately lead to one of the worst movies of the 90s, Batman & Robin.

7) It really is pretty freaking dark

Tim Burton drew on a lot of German expressionist horror films from the 1920s for the look of Gotham city and the movie's various sets, and MAN does it show.

Fun fact: Christopher Walken's character, Max Schreck, is named after the actor who portrayed Count Orlock in Nosferatu, the first vampire film.

8) The posters for the film kept getting stolen

Warner Bros. apparently had to send tons of copies of the iconic Catwoman poster to various cities, as they kept getting stolen from bus stops. The police even had to get involved, as people would break the Plexiglas casing surrounding the posters!

9) Lots of actors didn't make it into the movie

Billy Dee Williams was supposed to return as D.A. Harvey Dent, who would ultimately turn into Two-Face during the span of the film. Even after the character was replaced with Max Schreck, it was first offered to David Bowie!

Annette Bening was originally cast as Catwoman as well, but she was replaced by Pfeifer upon discovering she was pregnant.

10) The original Penguin was almost in it

Burgess Meredith, who played The Penguin in the iconic 1960s Batman TV series alongside Adam West, was offered to appear in the film's opening as the father of The Penguin. Unfortunately, illness prevented him from taking the role.

Happy birthday Batman Returns! Here's to another 25 years!