50 Fun Facts About Batman (1989)

Who directed the 1989 Batman film?

Warner Bros. hired Burton after Pee-wee's Big Adventure but did not greenlight the film until Beetlejuice was a hit in 1988.

Who plays the Joker in Batman (1989)?

Nicholson had been the studio's top choice since 1980, and Robin Williams lobbied hard for the part.

Roughly how many protest letters did Warner Bros. get from fans over Michael Keaton's casting?

Fans expected the campy Mr. Mom to make a 1960s-style Batman; Keaton studied The Dark Knight Returns to prepare instead.

Which producer suggested Michael Keaton after seeing his dramatic turn in Clean and Sober?

The director, who had worked with Keaton on Beetlejuice, agreed, though he had originally been interested in the unknown Willem Dafoe.

Which star turned down Batman in favour of Lethal Weapon 2?

Bill Murray, Charlie Sheen, Steven Seagal and Dennis Quaid were also on the studio's list, and Pierce Brosnan simply had no interest in a comic-book role.

Who was originally cast as the female lead before a horse-riding accident forced her out?

The same producer then suggested Kim Basinger because she could join the production immediately.

Which actor talked the director out of casting him as the Joker, then regretted it?

Liotta separately declined a meeting because he thought the film would be stupid, and regretted that too.

The Joker's actor cut his usual $10m fee to $6m in exchange for what?

The deal paid him more than $50 million and by one biographer's estimate as much as $90 million; he also insisted on top billing and time off for Lakers home games.

Which fictional chemical company's vat turns Jack Napier into the Joker?

The film borrows and then departs from the comics' Red Hood origin story for the Joker.

What is the name of the Joker's poison, which makes victims die laughing?

He laces hygiene products with it, so Batman hands Vicki his research to warn the city which combinations to avoid.

Which mob boss sets Napier up on the chemical-plant break-in over an affair with his mistress?

Jack Palance played him; screenwriter Sam Hamm invented Grissom to replace the comics' Rupert Thorne.

Which supermodel played Alicia Hunt, the mob boss's mistress?

Her face is later hidden behind a porcelain mask after the Joker's surgeons get to work on her.

Which museum does the Joker lure the photojournalist to and have his henchmen vandalise?

The Joker spares one painting, a Francis Bacon, remarking that he kind of likes it.

What does Bruce Wayne recognise in the Joker's 'danced with the devil in the pale moonlight' line?

Comics fans objected, since in the comics Joe Chill is the killer; Sam Hamm said making it the Joker was Burton's idea.

How does Bruce Wayne survive being shot by the Joker in Vicki's apartment?

Wayne had come to the apartment intending to reveal his secret identity before the Joker interrupted.

The Joker's parade with the promise of free money is held to celebrate what?

The giant parade balloons carry the poison gas, and Batman uses the Batwing to cut them loose.

Which reporter, played by Robert Wuhl, was scripted to die of Joker gas but survived because the filmmakers liked him?

Wuhl reprised Knox 30 years later in the Arrowverse crossover Crisis on Infinite Earths, which dubbed the film's world Earth-89.

Which Hammer horror veteran was cast as Alfred?

Gough stayed on as Alfred through all four films of the original series, even after Keaton and Burton left.

Billy Dee Williams played Harvey Dent because the director planned what for a sequel?

Tommy Lee Jones got the part in Batman Forever instead, to Williams' disappointment.

Which future star auditioned for Dick Grayson before the role was cut from the script?

Irish child actor Ricky Addison Reed was actually cast before Warren Skaaren removed Robin altogether.

The Joker's actor persuaded the filmmakers to cast which close friend as the Joker's henchman Bob?

Bob the Goon is famously shot by the Joker in the film after handing him a gun.

Where was Batman filmed from October 1988 to early 1989?

The 51-acre Gotham backlot was one of the biggest sets ever built at the studio, and media interest had chased the production out of Burbank.

Which two English stately homes doubled for Wayne Manor?

Two disused power stations, Acton Lane and Little Barford, provided the industrial locations.

Sets from which 1986 film were reused as the interiors of the Joker's chemical plant?

James Cameron's power plant and alien-nest sets were still standing at Acton Lane Power Station.

Which production designer built the film's Gotham City and won an Oscar for it?

Furst said the team imagined New York without a planning commission, an essay in ugliness, and cited Terry Gilliam's Brazil as an influence.

Which musician wrote and performed the film's songs?

The producers first wanted Prince for the Joker's songs and Michael Jackson for the romance numbers, with the composer blending the two.

Who composed the score, his third collaboration with the director after Pee-wee's Big Adventure?

One producer was sceptical of hiring the Oingo Boingo frontman until he heard the opening number.

Which single from the soundtrack album reached number one, his first since "Kiss"?

Its lyrics are mostly samples from the film, and the album topped the Billboard 200 for six weeks.

Which singer duets on "The Arms of Orion" from the soundtrack album?

In the liner notes the song is a duet between Bruce Wayne and Vicki Vale, each track being assigned to a character.

Which two comics are cited as the main influences on the film's serious tone?

The director was not a comics fan but responded to the seriousness of both books; Elfman was handed The Dark Knight Returns for inspiration too.

Which Batman co-creator worked as a consultant on the film?

Kane gave Sam Hamm's script positive feedback but joined the chorus questioning Keaton's casting.

Which two producers bought the Batman film rights from DC Comics in October 1979?

Uslan wanted the definitive dark Batman; the pair later sued, claiming they had been cheated out of credit and money.

Why did screenwriter Sam Hamm have to stop working on rewrites in 1988?

Warren Skaaren did the credited rewrites, with uncredited passes by Jonathan Gems and Charles McKeown during filming.

A producer reworked the cathedral climax behind the director's back and commissioned a model of what height?

It cost $100,000 with the film already over budget, and the director complained he had no idea how the scene would end.

Whose murder was originally scripted for the climax, until the ending was rewritten?

Her death was meant to send Batman into a vengeful fury; instead she survives and the Joker falls from the cathedral.

On what chassis was the 1989 Batmobile built?

Julian Caldow designed it, two were built in England, and the rear end was modelled on the 1950s Fiat Turbina concept car.

How much did Batman gross in its opening weekend, a record at the time?

It beat the marks set weeks earlier by Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and Ghostbusters II, then became the fastest film to $100 million.

How many days did Batman take to reach $100m at the box office, a record at the time?

It finished with $411.6 million worldwide and remained Warner Bros.' highest-grossing film until Twister in 1996.

Roughly how much Batman merchandise was sold during the Batmania of 1989?

Kevin Smith recalled people cutting the bat symbol into their hair that summer.

Why did the first Batman trailer, rushed into cinemas at Christmas 1988, have no music?

It was just an assemblage of scenes, but audiences reportedly clapped and cheered.

Why was the gold-and-black logo the only piece of key art used in the marketing?

The image is ambiguous, readable either as the bat symbol or as a gaping mouth, and hundreds of alternative posters were discarded.

Batman (1989) hit US VHS in November 1989 at what suggested price?

Selling a blockbuster straight to consumers so quickly and cheaply was unprecedented and helped kill second-run cinemas.

Which 2023 release saw Michael Keaton return as his version of Batman?

Batgirl, in which he also filmed scenes, was shelved by Warner Bros. Discovery before release.

Which actress plays photojournalist Vicki Vale in Batman (1989)?

She was a late replacement who could commit at very short notice, and earned a Saturn Award nomination for the role.

Which veteran character actor plays Commissioner Gordon in the 1989 film?

He unveils the Bat-Signal at the film's end; the other names here play Carl Grissom, Alfred and reporter Alexander Knox.

The producers decided to pattern the film's development after which earlier superhero movie?

Warner Bros., the studio behind that franchise, took on Batman after Universal and others turned it down; a $15 million budget was announced in 1980.

Which star did Ivan Reitman want as Batman, opposite Eddie Murphy's Robin, in an early version?

That was in the Tom Mankiewicz era, when the script also had Peter O'Toole pencilled in as a Penguin with a low body temperature.

Costume designer Bob Ringwood turned down which 1989 film to design the Batsuit instead?

He found the job hard because Michael Keaton was of average build, and Burton noted the claustrophobic suit put Keaton in a suitably dark mood.

Despite a box office of over $400m, Warner Bros. claimed the film lost how much?

The studio said it was 'not likely to ever show a profit' against a budget of no more than $48 million, a claim widely attributed to Hollywood accounting.

What did Michael Uslan title the script he wrote to show studios his dark vision for the hero?

Uslan later noted its tone predated The Dark Knight Returns by six years; studios at the time wanted something like the campy 1960s TV series.