‘Batman & Robin’ Director Joel Schumacher Passes Away At 80

Batman Forever and Batman and Robin director Joel Schumacher has passed away after a year-long battle with cancer.

Costume designer-turned-director Joel Schumacher died on Monday morning after fighting cancer for the past year, as revealed by his spokesperson. He was 80.

The director behind films such as St. Elmo’s Fire, The Lost Boys and Flatliners, Joel Schumacher was perhaps best known for his work with the DC Comics hero Batman. Schumacher directed two films starring the iconic comic book character — 1995’s Batman Forever and 1997’s Batman and Robin.

Batman Forever was the third film in the series that was launched with Tim Burton’s Batman (1989). Val Kilmer succeeded Michael Keaton in the role, and Schumacher took the director’s chair for that film as well as its infamous follow-up, Batman and Robin. Batman Forever starred Val Kilmer, Tommy Lee Jones, Jim Carrey, Nicole Kidman, Chris O’Donnell, Michael Gough and Pat Hingle and went on to gross $336.5 million worldwide.

The next film focusing on the Dark Knight is titled The Batman. Directed by Matt Reeves from a script he co-wrote with Mattson Tomlin, The Batman stars Robert Pattinson as the Caped Crusader, Zoe Kravitz as Catwoman, Paul Dano as the Riddler, Jeffrey Wright as Commissioner James Gordon, John Turturro as Carmine Falcone, Peter Sarsgaard as Gil Colson, Jayme Lawson as Bella Reál, with Andy Serkis as Alfred Pennyworth, and Colin Farrell as the Penguin.

The Batman is currently scheduled to hit theaters on October 1, 2021. Stay tuned to Heroic Hollywood for the latest news regarding Robert Pattinson, Matt Reeves, and The Batman, and be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel for more content.