Batman & Robin is a 1997 American superhero film based on the DC Comics characters Batman and Robin. It is the fourth and final installment of Warner Bros.' original Batman film series (1989–1997) and a sequel to Batman Forever (1995). Directed by Joel Schumacher and written by Akiva Goldsman, it stars George Clooney as Bruce Wayne / Batman and Chris O'Donnell as Dick Grayson / Robin, alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger, Uma Thurman, and Alicia Silverstone. The film follows the titular characters as they oppose Mr. Freeze and Poison Ivy, while struggling to keep their partnership together.
Warner Bros. fast-tracked development for Batman & Robin following the box office success of Batman Forever; Schumacher was given a mandate to make the film more toyetic than its predecessor. Schumacher and Goldsman conceived the storyline during pre-production on A Time to Kill. After Val Kilmer decided not to reprise the role of Batman, Schumacher was interested in casting William Baldwin before Clooney won the role. Principal photography began in September 1996 and wrapped in January 1997, two weeks ahead of the shooting schedule. Batman & Robin is the only film in the initial Batman film series made without the involvement of Tim Burton in any capacity.
Batman & Robin premiered in Los Angeles on June 12, 1997, and went into general release on June 20. It grossed $238 million worldwide against a production budget of $125–160 million, and was a box office disappointment. The film received generally negative reviews from critics and is considered to be one of the worst films ever made. The film's poor reception caused Warner Bros. to cancel future Batman films, including Schumacher's planned Batman Unchained until 2005, with the release of Batman Begins, serving as the first film of the Dark Knight trilogy. One of the songs recorded for the film, "The End Is the Beginning Is the End" by the Smashing Pumpkins, won a Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance at the 40th Annual Grammy Awards.
Plot
Batman and his partner, Robin, encounter a new villain, Mr. Freeze, who has left a string of diamond thefts in his wake. During a confrontation at the natural history museum, Freeze steals a diamond and flees, freezing Robin to distract Batman. Later, Batman and Robin learn that Freeze was originally Doctor Victor Fries, a scientist working to develop a cure for a disease known as MacGregor's syndrome, hoping to heal his wife, Nora. After a lab accident, Fries was rendered unable to live at average temperatures and forced to wear a cryogenic suit powered by diamonds for survival.
At a Wayne Enterprises lab in Brazil, botanist Pamela Isley is working under Jason Woodrue, who has turned her research on plants into a super soldier serum dubbed Venom. After witnessing Woodrue use it to mutate serial killer Antonio Diego into Bane, she threatens to expose Woodrue's experiments. Woodrue attempts to kill her by overturning a shelf of various toxins; instead, Isley is mutated by the toxins into Poison Ivy, who murders Woodrue with a venom-laden kiss, destroys the lab, and escapes to Gotham City with Bane, plotting to use Wayne's money to support her research. Meanwhile, Alfred Pennyworth's niece, Barbara Wilson, makes a surprise visit and is invited by Bruce to stay at Wayne Manor until she goes back to school.
Wayne Enterprises presents a new telescope for Gotham Observatory at a press conference interrupted by Ivy. She proposes a project that could help the environment, but Bruce declines her offer, knowing it could leave the impoverished without food or heating. Batman and Robin decide to lure Freeze out using the Wayne Family diamonds and present them at a Wayne Enterprises charity event. Ivy attends the event and uses her abilities to seduce Batman and Robin. Freeze crashes the party but is defeated and incarcerated at Arkham Asylum. Ivy takes an interest in Freeze and helps him escape with Bane’s help, killing two guards with her kiss in the process. Dick discovers that Barbara has been participating in drag races to raise money for Alfred, who is dying of MacGregor's syndrome; a fact he kept from Bruce and Dick, but his niece is secretly aware of his situation and is trying to find treatment for him.
Batman, Robin, and the police arrive at Freeze's lair in response to his escape, discovering Nora preserved in a cryogenic chamber and that Freeze has developed a cure for the early stages of MacGregor's syndrome. The rogues soon secretly arrive to recover Freeze's diamonds and Nora. Wanting Freeze for herself, Ivy cuts the power to Nora's chamber, steals the diamonds, and seduces Robin and nearly kisses Robin, escalating tensions between him and Batman. At her hideout, Ivy lies to Freeze that Batman killed Nora, manipulating him to help her in her quest to repopulate Earth using her mutant plants afterward. Freeze and Bane commandeer Gotham Observatory and convert the new telescope into a giant freeze ray, while Ivy uses the Bat-Signal to contact Robin. Robin attempts to go after Ivy alone, but Batman convinces him not to fall for Ivy's seduction, giving him a pair of rubber lips to survive her deadly kiss. Barbara discovers the Batcave, where an artificial intelligence version of Alfred reveals he has made a suit for Barbara. Barbara becomes Batgirl, arriving at Ivy's lair in time to save Batman and Robin from Ivy.
Freeze begins to freeze Gotham over while Batman, Robin, and Batgirl head to Gotham Observatory together to stop him. Batman defeats Freeze in combat, while Batgirl and Robin drain Bane's Venom and thaw the city. Freeze accuses Batman of taking Nora's life, only to be shown a recording of Ivy admitting to the crime. Batman reveals that Nora survived and offers Freeze the chance to continue his research on MacGregor's syndrome in exchange for his cure. Freeze accepts and returns to Arkham, where he is imprisoned in the same cell as Ivy, whom he plans to torment. Alfred is cured, and Bruce and Dick agree to let Barbara join them in fighting crime.
Cast
Arnold Schwarzenegger as Doctor Victor Fries / Mr. Freeze:A molecular biologist who suffers an accident while trying to cryogenically preserve his terminally ill wife. As a result, he is forced to live in a diamond-powered sub-zero suit. George Clooney as Bruce Wayne / Batman:A billionaire businessman who fights crime as Batman, Gotham City's vigilante protector. Eric Lloyd as Young Bruce Wayne. Chris O'Donnell as Dick Grayson / Robin:The crime-fighting partner to Batman and legal ward to Bruce Wayne. He has begun to chafe against Batman's authority, which is amplified even further by Poison Ivy's influence. Uma Thurman as Doctor Pamela Isley / Poison Ivy:A botanist-turned-eco-terrorist. Mutated as a result of being doused with vials of chemicals, poisons, and toxins, she uses pheromone dust to make men fall for her and venom-laced lips to kill her victims with a single kiss. Alicia Silverstone as Barbara Wilson / Batgirl:Alfred's niece who, after losing her parents, joins the superhero duo. Michael Gough as Alfred Pennyworth:The trusted butler for Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson. Jon Simmons portrays the character's younger self. Pat Hingle as Commissioner James Gordon:The police commissioner of Gotham City. He is close to Batman and informs him of numerous crimes. Elle Macpherson as Julie Madison:Bruce Wayne's girlfriend. She proposes to Bruce, but he does not respond, fearing for her safety.
John Glover plays Doctor Jason Woodrue, a deranged scientist with a desire for world domination via his Venom-powered "super soldier. Bane, a super soldier who becomes Poison Ivy's bodyguard and muscle, is portrayed by Robert Swenson in his final film role, with Michael Reid MacKay portraying the character before his mutation. Vivica A. Fox and Vendela Kirsebom play Mr. Freeze's assistant and Nora Fries, Freeze's cryogenically frozen wife, respectively. Elizabeth Sanders appears as Gossip Gerty, Gotham's top gossip columnist. Michael Paul Chan and Kimberly Scott both appear as telescope scientists. Jesse Ventura and Ralf Moeller appear as a pair of guards at Arkham Asylum. Coolio makes a cameo appearance, later stating that he was to reprise his role as Scarecrow in the cancelled sequel Batman Unchained.
Production Development With the box office success of Batman Forever in June 1995, Warner Bros. immediately commissioned a sequel. They hired director Joel Schumacher and writer Akiva Goldsman to reprise their duties the following August and decided it was best to fast-track production for a June 1997 target release date, which was a break from the usual three-year gap between films. Schumacher wanted to pay homage to the work of the classic Batman comic books of his childhood. The storyline of Batman & Robin was conceived by Schumacher and Goldsman during pre-production on A Time to Kill (1996). Portions of Mr. Freeze's backstory were based on the Batman: The Animated Series episode "Heart of Ice", written by Paul Dini. Goldsman, however, expressed concerns about the script during pre-production discussions with Schumacher. Schumacher stated that he was given the mandate by the studio to make the film more toyetic, even when compared to Batman Forever. The studio reportedly included toy companies in pre-production meetings; Mr. Freeze's blaster was specifically designed by toy manufacturers. Batman co-creator Bob Kane acted as an official consultant and was heavily involved in the production; he gave input on the film's script as well as on set.
While Chris O'Donnell reprised the role of Robin, Val Kilmer decided not to reprise the role of Batman from Batman Forever. Schumacher admitted that he had difficulty working with Kilmer on Batman Forever. "He sort of quit," Schumacher said, "and we sort of fired him." Schumacher later claimed that Kilmer wanted to work on The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996) because Marlon Brando was cast in the film. Kilmer said that he was not aware of the fast-track production and was already committed to Heat (1995) and The Saint (1997). David Duchovny stated he was considered for the role of Batman, joking that the reason why he was not chosen was because his nose was too big.
George Clooney's casting as Batman was suggested by Warner Bros. executive Bob Daly. Schumacher originally had interest in casting William Baldwin in Kilmer's place, but chose Clooney after seeing his performance in From Dusk till Dawn (1996). Schumacher felt that Clooney "brought a real humanity and humor to the piece, an accessibility that I don't think anybody else has been able to offer" and that he strongly resembled the character from the comic books. Schumacher also believed that Clooney could provide a lighter interpretation of the character than Kilmer and Michael Keaton. As a consequence of time constraints, the costume department repurposed the costume worn by Kilmer in Batman Forever for the third act of the film. Matt Damon revealed in a July 2026 interview that he had been called in to screentest for the role of Robin had negotiations with O'Donnell returning broken down.