The story of Batman in 1989 is one of victory and success. In 1966, Batman came to television and unleashed upon the world a Batmania. However, Batman on TV wasn't Batman. The Batman in the comics had become, relative to the concept, serious by 1964 in reaction to declining sales of the whacky 50s Batman, and grew increasingly serious and realism focused throughout the 60s and ever since. The Batman of television was more at home with the 50s Batman, and more than that, it was a self-aware parody of the comic books, playing up what came to be known as "camp". For all it's merits as that, and for what it did for Batman comic book sales, it burned into the popular consciousness the idea that Batman was silly and whacky, and that comic books in general were that, and that it was all *Biff!* and *Pow!*.
For a Batman fan, the fact that the average person thought that mocking of Batman and comics was how things were and thought of the character in those terms was heartbreaking. Such was the case with a young boy named Michael Uslan, who pledged one day that he would make sure the world saw Batman as the Batman he knew. And that happened. Uslan grew up to teach a course on comics as modern myth, and subsequently worked to become a producer and make the money to bring Batman to the film screen, and he secured the rights for a Batman film from DC.
One of the biggest problems was a studio would not pick it up for various reasons, some of which related to what the 60s Batman was. It took until the late 80s for a studio to finally sign on, for it to go into production, and to be released. It was a major success and a major culture phenomenon, and did a lot to remove the Adam West perception from Batman and comic books.
I set that up to say this: one of the big fears during the whole process of trying to get a film was that the studio would make a comedy film out of it like the 60s show. That was a huge fear for Batman fans, so much so that when Michael Keaton was signed on, it sent a chill because Keaton was a comedy star and everyone thought at first that meant it was going to be a parody like the 60s show. And I have heard things where studios and people involved did propose a comedy like film. I've heard things like Bill Murray as Batman and Eddie Murphy as Robin as a proposal. Had that happened, I'm sure it would have had the prospects of being a good comedy and a success. It would also have been a heart shattering disappointment behind the scenes for Michael Uslan and all those people who worked hard to get comic books respect, and a respect that the very mature versions of the comics that had come by the late 1980s deserved. It would covertly be a dystopia.
What if a Batman film had come out in the 80s which was a comedy?
For a Batman fan, the fact that the average person thought that mocking of Batman and comics was how things were and thought of the character in those terms was heartbreaking. Such was the case with a young boy named Michael Uslan, who pledged one day that he would make sure the world saw Batman as the Batman he knew. And that happened. Uslan grew up to teach a course on comics as modern myth, and subsequently worked to become a producer and make the money to bring Batman to the film screen, and he secured the rights for a Batman film from DC.
One of the biggest problems was a studio would not pick it up for various reasons, some of which related to what the 60s Batman was. It took until the late 80s for a studio to finally sign on, for it to go into production, and to be released. It was a major success and a major culture phenomenon, and did a lot to remove the Adam West perception from Batman and comic books.
I set that up to say this: one of the big fears during the whole process of trying to get a film was that the studio would make a comedy film out of it like the 60s show. That was a huge fear for Batman fans, so much so that when Michael Keaton was signed on, it sent a chill because Keaton was a comedy star and everyone thought at first that meant it was going to be a parody like the 60s show. And I have heard things where studios and people involved did propose a comedy like film. I've heard things like Bill Murray as Batman and Eddie Murphy as Robin as a proposal. Had that happened, I'm sure it would have had the prospects of being a good comedy and a success. It would also have been a heart shattering disappointment behind the scenes for Michael Uslan and all those people who worked hard to get comic books respect, and a respect that the very mature versions of the comics that had come by the late 1980s deserved. It would covertly be a dystopia.
What if a Batman film had come out in the 80s which was a comedy?
