Val Kilmer reveals incident that led to him quitting as Batman

Val Kilmer has opened up about his decision to quit as Batman after just one movie.

The 60-year-old actor, who starred as Bruce Wayne in 1995’s Batman Forever before dropping out, recently took part in an extensive interview with the New York Times that touched on various parts of his career.

As one of the few actors to have portrayed the Caped Crusader on the silver screen, the conversation was always going to turn to his departure as Batman. But no-one could have predicted the reason why Kilmer decided to leave.

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It turns out that Kilmer simply stopped enjoying playing Bruce Wayne and Batman, something that he only realised after billionaire businessman Warren Buffet visited the set of Batman Forever alongside his grandkids.

In order to make their visit special, Kilmer decided to keep the entire Batsuit on. But once they arrived, Buffet’s grandchildren had absolutely no interest in talking to Kilmer, and instead they only wanted to put on the mask, play with the props, and get in the Batmobile.

It was at this point that Kilmer realised that anyone could be under that mask. “That’s why it’s so easy to have five or six Batmans,” Kilmer explained to the New York Times. “It’s not about Batman. There is no Batman.”

Kilmer also admitted that a scheduling conflict with 1997’s The Saint contributed to his decision not to star in Batman & Robin, and he was eventually replaced by George Clooney in the heavily maligned comic-book adaptation.

Robert Pattinson will be the next man to play the character in The Batman, which is now scheduled to hit cinemas on October 1, 2021.