After Batman Returns underperformed financially and was seen as too dark for children (leading McDonald's to recall its Happy Meal tie-in), Warner Bros. decided a lighter tone was needed and did not want Tim Burton to direct again, though he stayed on as producer.
John McTiernan turned down the chance to direct the film because he was busy making Die Hard with a Vengeance, and Joel Schumacher was hired in June 1993 while filming The Client, with Burton's approval.
Screenwriters Lee and Janet Scott-Batchler originally wrote a psychotic Riddler named Lyle Heckendorf who had a pet rat and got his costume from a fortune-telling leprechaun at a circus, and whose company was called HeckTech instead of NygmaTech.
Schumacher initially wanted to adapt Frank Miller's Batman: Year One with Michael Keaton returning as Batman, but Warner Bros. rejected the prequel idea since they wanted a sequel.
Michael Keaton turned down $15 million to reprise Batman because he disliked the direction the series was taking, prompting the studio to seek a younger actor; Ethan Hawke was offered the role first but declined and later regretted it.
Val Kilmer was cast after Schumacher saw him in Tombstone, while William Baldwin, Ralph Fiennes, Daniel Day-Lewis, Johnny Depp (pushed by Burton) and Kurt Russell were also considered for Batman; Kilmer signed on without even reading the script or knowing who was directing.
With Kilmer cast, Warner Bros. dropped Rene Russo as Chase Meridian for being considered too old to be paired with him, replacing her with Nicole Kidman, who said she took the role because she 'wanted to kiss Batman.'
Billy Dee Williams took the role of Harvey Dent in the 1989 Batman film specifically hoping to later play Two-Face, but Schumacher instead cast Tommy Lee Jones, having previously worked with him on The Client; Al Pacino, Clint Eastwood, Martin Sheen, Robert De Niro and Mel Gibson (who chose Braveheart instead) were also considered.
Robin Williams was reportedly in the running to play the Riddler against John Malkovich but backed out after clashing with Schumacher, and Michael Jackson also lobbied hard for the role before it went to Jim Carrey.
Marlon Wayans was originally cast as Robin during Batman Returns' development and signed on for a sequel, but Schumacher reopened casting; Leonardo DiCaprio was considered but passed after meeting Schumacher, and the role eventually went to Chris O'Donnell.
Schumacher and Val Kilmer clashed on set, with the director calling him 'childish and impossible' after Kilmer reportedly fought with crew members and refused to speak to Schumacher for two weeks.
Tommy Lee Jones was openly hostile to Jim Carrey during filming, telling him 'I hate you... I cannot sanction your buffoonery,' which Carrey confirmed in a 2014 interview.
Rick Baker designed the prosthetic makeup, while Rhythm & Hues Studios and Pacific Data Images created a CGI Batman for complicated stunts, and sound designers traveled to caves to record real bat sounds.
Swiss surrealist artist H. R. Giger designed a version of the Batmobile for the film, but it was deemed too sinister and not used.
Elliot Goldenthal was hired to compose the score before the screenplay was even written, and Schumacher specifically asked him to avoid taking inspiration from Danny Elfman's previous Batman scores.
Despite Goldenthal's original score, the film's promotional trailers and commercials used Danny Elfman's main title theme from the 1989 Batman film.
Batman Forever opened to a then-record $52.8 million, surpassing Jurassic Park's opening weekend record, and became the first film to gross $20 million in a single day.
The film's nipple-suited Batman and Robin costumes sparked international controversy; Schumacher explained the design was based on 'anatomically correct' Ancient Greek statues, while O'Donnell said the codpiece bothered him more than the nipples.
A significantly longer 'Schumacher Cut' of the film reportedly exists, running about 50 minutes longer and darker in tone with less camp, but Warner Bros. has repeatedly declined to release it, even issuing a cease-and-desist to stop an independent theater from screening a workprint version in 2025.
