50 Fun Facts About Batman (1989)

Who directed the 1989 Batman film?

Tim Burton was hired by Warner Bros. after Pee-wee's Big Adventure, but the studio only greenlit Batman once Beetlejuice became a hit in 1988.

Who plays the Joker in Batman (1989)?

Jack Nicholson was the producers' dream Joker from 1980, when one of them mocked up his face from The Shining in clown make-up; Robin Williams was also approached before Nicholson signed.

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

50,000 letters of protest reached Warner Bros. after the Mr. Mom and Beetlejuice star was announced, fans fearing a campy, 1960s-style Batman.

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

Jon Peters, producing alongside Peter Guber, pushed for Michael Keaton after seeing him in Clean and Sober; the director, fresh from working with Keaton on Beetlejuice, agreed.

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

Mel Gibson was approached for the cape but committed to Lethal Weapon 2, released in 1989; Pierce Brosnan and Dennis Quaid were also considered.

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

Sean Young had been cast as the photojournalist but was injured falling from a horse shortly before shooting, and her replacement was signed within days.

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

John Lithgow, then starring in M. Butterfly on Broadway, spent his audition persuading the director he was wrong for the Joker, and later called it a big regret.

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

A share of the film's earnings and merchandise was what Nicholson took in exchange for cutting his fee to $6m; the deal earned him an estimated $60 million or more, plus top billing.

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

Axis Chemicals is the plant where Jack Napier falls into a vat of chemicals after Batman's grip slips; the film adapts the comics' Red Hood origin to Napier.

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

Smylex is the Joker's toxin, hidden in cosmetics so that certain product combinations kill with a rictus grin; Batman passes his analysis to the press so the city can be warned.

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

Carl Grissom, played by Jack Palance, runs Gotham's rackets and sends Napier into a police trap after learning of the affair; the Joker later shoots him dead.

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

Jerry Hall, then Mick Jagger's partner, played Alicia Hunt; after the Joker disfigures her she hides behind a porcelain mask, and he later claims she 'threw herself' from a window.

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

The Flugelheim Museum is where the Joker's gang defaces the art to a blaring boombox; he spares only Francis Bacon's Figure with Meat, saying he kind of likes it.

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

The phrase used by the mugger who killed his parents is the line; the film makes young Jack Napier the killer, a departure from the comics, where the gunman is Joe Chill.

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

A serving tray hidden under his shirt takes the bullet; Bruce had come to tell Vicki his secret, and after playing dead he leaves her apartment with the dented tray.

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

Gotham's bicentennial, the city's 200th-anniversary festival, is the occasion; the Joker's parade balloons spew poison gas until Batman's Batwing carries them away.

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

Alexander Knox, Robert Wuhl's wisecracking reporter, died of Joker gas in early drafts; Wuhl reprised him in 2019's Crisis on Infinite Earths, which labelled the film's world Earth-89.

Which Hammer horror veteran was cast as Alfred?

Michael Gough, a veteran of Hammer's Horror of Dracula, played Alfred in all four films of the original series, outlasting both Keaton and the director.

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

An African-American Two-Face was the plan, with Williams's Dent to be scarred in a sequel; instead Tommy Lee Jones played Two-Face in 1995's Batman Forever.

Which actor plays the corrupt police lieutenant Eckhardt?

William Hootkins, Porkins in Star Wars, plays the corrupt Lieutenant Eckhardt, who takes the mob's bribes and is shot dead by Napier at the chemical plant.

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

Tracey Walter, a long-time friend of Nicholson's, played Bob the Goon, the loyal henchman whom the Joker abruptly shoots after the Batwing is brought down.

Where was Batman filmed from October 1988 to early 1989?

Pinewood Studios, England, hosted the shoot from October 1988 into early 1989; a sprawling Gotham City rose on its backlot, far from the Hollywood press the filmmakers wanted to avoid.

Which two English stately homes doubled for Wayne Manor?

Knebworth House and Hatfield House, both in Hertfordshire, stood in for Wayne Manor: Knebworth's Gothic facade for the exteriors and Hatfield's rooms for the interiors.

Which 1986 film had previously shot at the power station used for the Joker's chemical plant?

Aliens had used the disused Acton Lane Power Station in west London three years earlier; the same building became the Joker's chemical plant for Batman.

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

Anton Furst designed Gotham as a nightmarish New York where buildings grew unchecked, winning the Academy Award for Best Art Direction with set decorator Peter Young.

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?

Danny Elfman, the Oingo Boingo frontman, wrote the score after Pee-wee's Big Adventure and Beetlejuice; his brass-heavy Batman theme later opened Batman: The Animated Series.

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

"Batdance" topped the Hot 100 in August 1989, his first number one since "Kiss" in 1986; the collage of film dialogue and samples fronted an album that led the Billboard 200 for six weeks.

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

Sheena Easton, who had earlier sung on his 'U Got the Look', joins him on 'The Arms of Orion'; the album's notes credit each track to a character, this one to Bruce and Vicki.

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

The Dark Knight Returns and The Killing Joke, Frank Miller's 1986 miniseries and Alan Moore's 1988 one-shot, gave the director, no comics reader himself, the grim tone he wanted.

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

Bob Kane, credited as Batman's creator, was the film's creative consultant; the cartoon of a bat-creature handed to the reporter is signed with Kane's own name.

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

Benjamin Melniker and Michael Uslan bought the rights in October 1979 and spent a decade shepherding the project; they later sued Warner Bros. over credit and profits.

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

The Writers Guild of America strike of 1988 pulled Hamm off the project; Warren Skaaren took over the credited rewrites, with uncredited passes by Jonathan Gems and Charles McKeown.

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

38 feet was the height of the cathedral model the producer ordered for $100,000 while the film was already over budget, leaving the director unsure how his own climax 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?

A Chevrolet Impala chassis underpinned both cars, built in England for the shoot; the production designer's long, low body with a jet intake at the nose evoked a land-speed racer.

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?

11 days was all it took to pass $100 million, a record pace in 1989; the film went on to earn about $411 million worldwide, the year's biggest hit in North America.

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

$750 million in merchandise sales is the figure attached to Batmania, the summer of 1989 when the black-and-gold bat logo appeared on everything from T-shirts to cereal boxes.

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

A producer cobbled it together to answer fan anger over Keaton: the musicless teaser was a bare assemblage of scenes, yet theatre audiences cheered it and the backlash faded.

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

To keep an air of mystery about the movie, the studio put the gold-and-black bat logo alone on posters, billboards and T-shirts, with no star portraits at all.

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

$24.95 was the sell-through price when the tape arrived in November 1989, within five months of the cinema release; most blockbusters were then priced around $90 for rental stores.

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

The Flash, released in June 2023, brought Keaton back as his Batman alongside Ezra Miller's Barry Allen; his scenes for the shelved Batgirl film never reached the public.

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

Kim Basinger stepped in as Vicki Vale days before shooting after the original actress's riding accident; she later won an Oscar for L.A. Confidential.

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

Pat Hingle plays Commissioner Gordon, unveiling the Bat-Signal in the final scene; he kept the role through all four films of the original series.

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

Superman (1978) was the model: the producers wanted Batman handled with the scale and seriousness Warner Bros. had given its Man of Steel, after several other studios rejected the project.

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

Bill Murray was Ivan Reitman's choice for the cowl, with Eddie Murphy as Robin, when Reitman was briefly attached during the early 1980s, before the project turned serious.

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

Licence to Kill, the 1989 Bond film, lost Ringwood to Batman; his task was to make the average-built Keaton look imposing, and the suit's claustrophobia fed Keaton's brooding performance.

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

$35.8 million was the loss Warner Bros. reported on the film's net-profit statement, despite a budget of no more than $48 million, a textbook case of Hollywood accounting.

What was the title of the 1980 script a producer wrote to pitch a dark Batman?

Return of the Batman was Michael Uslan's own 1980 script, written to convince studios that a grim Batman could work when executives wanted the camp of the 1960s TV series.