The Surprising Role Michael Keaton Regrets Passing On
Every actor has a role or two that they regret turning down later on in their careers. Even the most successful actors in the industry sometimes wish that they could turn back the clock and do things a little bit differently. Take John Travolta, who was allegedly once up for significant parts in "First Blood," "Top Gun," and "Forrest Gump" back in the day, only to miss out on the potential career-changing roles. For Michael Keaton, though, the regret looks a little different; he wishes he'd stuck with a character that he was comfortable playing just a bit longer.
After taking on the role of the Dark Knight in Tim Burton's "Batman" and its sequel, "Batman Returns," Michael Keaton stepped away from playing Gotham's resident superhero for a minute. While he's set to don the cape and bat ears again in DC's "The Flash" adaptation — playing one of several Batman incarnations from past years — the actor told The Hollywood Reporter that he regrets turning down a previous "Batman" flick that he was offered the chance to star in.
Michael Keaton wishes he gave Batman Forever a chance
It's been well-documented how Michael Keaton turned down the chance to return for "Batman Forever," reportedly rejecting a whopping $15 million dollars because he didn't like the film's script or Joel Schumacher's vision as a director. Hindsight is an interesting thing, though, and it's made the actor believe that he could have knocked "Batman Forever" out of the park if he agreed to return for another hurrah.
"Frankly, in the back of my head, I always thought, 'I bet I could go back and nail that motherf***er,' " Keaton told THR while recalling the decision. "And so I thought, 'Well, now that they're asking me, let me see if I can pull that off.'"
Keaton was ultimately replaced by Val Kilmer, who proved to be an entertaining Bruce Wayne/Batman in his own right. However, now that Keaton has expressed some regret over saying no to a return, it will undoubtedly cause Batman fans to wonder what could have been if he was less picky.