See George Clooney Claim That He Is The Best Batman
George Clooney recently joked to a crowd that people know him as "the best Batman ever."
There is still some debate online over which actor best portrayed the iconic DC character, the Batman. Many actors have dawned the cowl, bringing their unique flavor to the dark knight. One actor who claimed he was the best Batman was George Clooney.
In a video posted by THR’s Chris Gardner, George Clooney can be seen giving a lecture at an open house event at Roybal Film & TV Magnet when the topic of Batman came up. He referenced his time as the Batman when describing himself to the crowd, saying, “When you think of me, you think, “He’s just the best Batman of all time.” The remark elicited laughter and a comment from actor Don Cheadle, who hit back with “best available.”
George Clooney continued joking about his time as Batman, saying, “Ben Affleck? Really? No, he’s got nothing on me.” The reference, of course, is to actor Ben Affleck who dawns the cowl in what’s known as the Snyderverse. Affleck is rumored to appear in the upcoming The Flash movie scheduled to hit theaters next year.
Over the years, George Clooney has joked that Batman & Robin is a “pretty horrendous film.” He blamed the looped dialogue being one of the reasons why fans nor critics don’t hold it to a high standard. Batman & Robin mainly received unfavorable reviews and is considered one of the worst comic book movies of all time.
George Clooney even admitted apologizing to former Batman actor Adam West for how the film turned out. During a 2015 interview on The Graham Norton Show, Clooney claimed that he “always apologizes for Batman & Robin.” The film was nominated for several Golden Raspberry Awards.
Unfortunately for George Clooney, Batman & Robin was his only feature film appearance as the dark knight. Clooney replaced actor Val Kilmer, who previously portrayed the character in Batman Forever. Director Joel Schumacher admitted that he and Kilmer had difficulty working together in the film.
Many fans have made fun of George Clooney’s Batman since Batman & Robin’s release. One of the most controversial aspects of Clooney’s Batman is the actual suit, which includes rubber nipples. There was also criticism targeted at the film’s tongue-in-cheek tone.
After George Clooney’s run as the dark knight, Warner Bros. decided to cancel future Batman films, including Schumacher’s Batman Unchained. It wasn’t until Christopher Nolan came in with a new take on the character that Batman became a box office draw again. Nolan’s Batman Begins introduced audiences to a more serious, realistic take on Gotham City and featured a grounded version of Batman, played famously by Christian Bale.
The Batman films have moved away from the fantastical era of the character established on the big screen by directors Tim Burton and Joel Schumacher to more of how the character is depicted in Frank Miller’s comic book run. Batman now is less of the cartoonish superhero that George Clooney portrayed in Batman & Robin and more of a man drowning in his pain and guilt over what happened to his parents. The evolution is actually quite striking and reflects the type of world we live in today.
