Why is Harvey Dent suddenly white?
Seriously. Couldn't they have at least cast another black actor if not Billy Dee Williams? What about Denzel Washington? Didn't anyone care about continuity?
That was what I've always said about this aspect. I'd have picked Eriq LaSalle.
Annoying the world since 1960!
Where is the outrage that Billy Dee Williams was excluded from Batman Returns where he was originally planned to play the Max Schreck role that would have led to Two-Face? Had that happened, it would have been harder to recast the actor even with a new creative team, although apparently Williams only had a one-picture deal to begin with thus why he got screwed twice.
But had Tim Burton done Batman 3 Billy Dee would have come back. Burton was planning on playing on racial themes by having a black actor (Marlon Wayans) play Robin opposite to Two-Face. Could have been great or really awkward depending on the script.
Batman Forever was kind of a loose reboot, back during a time when comic book reboots weren't even a thing yet. All that kept Forever in continuity with Burton's were Alfred and Gordon's actors, Bruce's Crime Alley memory, and one subtle reference to Catwoman. This was pretty much intentional, Warner Bros. pretty much wanted it more like a reboot. The whole reason they dropped Tim Burton was that Batman Returns had a lot of bad press, with brutal reactions regarding the dark and depressing film tone and how McDonald's was wrong for promoting such a film through Happy Meals (lol). What's funny is that the creative team of Batman Returns had intended a family-friendly film and thus did not understand the backlash and poor box office performance of Batman Returns.
Michael Keaton could have returned as Batman in Forever though, but he apparently felt his input about making the movie more of a Batman film (than a villains' film) was being ignored, so Keaton left. Ironically Batman Forever does spend a lot of time focusing on Bruce Wayne/Batman, so I think Keaton just didn't like Schumacher, which is odd because I thought the only thing Burton did for Forever was pick the director & story writer, so I'm not sure why Keaton didn't make the most of it.
Why would BDW play Shreck in "Batman Returns" when he started out playing Harvey Dent in the previous movie?
Annoying the world since 1960!
Christopher Walken should have played Dent from the beginning. He gets scarred in the 2nd film and then he's Two-Face in the 3rd.
"I really wish Gia and Claire had became Tanner" - Honeybeefine
I have one theory about this! Batman Forever actually takes plays in an alternate earth from the Tim Burton ones. Hence, why Bruce Wayne suddenly looks like Val Kilmer instead of Michael Keaton, why Harvey Dent is now Tommy Lee Jones instead Billy Dee Williams, and why Gotham City looks is now infested with day glo.
Of course, then you have to explain why Alfred and Commissioner Gordon look like the same actors from the first two movies, but I'm only focusing on the bigger issues at hand.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiverse_(DC_Comics)
The Tim Burton movies basically represent the "Golden Age" era of the comics, while Forever represents the "Bronze Age":
http://gothamalleys.blogspot.com/2011/08/comic-book-references-in-movies-part-i.html
http://gothamalleys.blogspot.com/2011/08/comic-book-references-in-movies-part-ii.html
http://gothamalleys.blogspot.com/2011/08/comic-book-references-in-movies-part.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bronze_Age_of_Comic_Books
Schumacher wanted to cast Jones and to me it seems obvious that the intention was that BF Harvey Dent was just a different person of the same name who also became district attorney.
shareBatman Forever was kind of a loose reboot, back during a time when comic book reboots weren't even a thing yet. All that kept Forever in continuity with Burton's were Alfred and Gordon's actors, Bruce's Crime Alley memory, and one subtle reference to Catwoman. This was pretty much intentional, Warner Bros. pretty much wanted it more like a reboot. The whole reason they dropped Tim Burton was that Batman Returns had a lot of bad press, with brutal reactions regarding the dark and depressing film tone and how McDonald's was wrong for promoting such a film through Happy Meals (lol). What's funny is that the creative team of Batman Returns had intended a family-friendly film and thus did not understand the backlash and poor box office performance of Batman Returns.
The Nolan films are 10X better than the Burton/Schumacher films. The reason I don't like Forever is that there is way too much humor and goofiness and it takes away from the story and the character development. Batman should be serious.
"I really wish Gia and Claire had became Tanner" - Honeybeefine
nah I am not in the same boat. Nolan made what have got to be the most pretentious, bloated, boring, talky batman movies ive ever seen. all I can say is, good marketing, audiences want to feel smart, and its "hip" to like Nolan and his heavy handed crime thrillers. I refuse to call them superhero movies because....they are not. its law and order in a cape. IMO, the movies have a serious identity crisis, don't know what they want to be. if you take any superhero stuff out of the movies, you may have a decent crime thriller on your hands. but since its supposed to be a batman movie, it feels so incredibly off. say what you will about schumachers movies, at least they know what they are trying to be, and entertaining beats boring any day of the week.
shareThat's what makes them great, Nolan took a silly concept about a guy dressed as a Bat and turned it into a serious, mature, adult crime thriller and it worked perfectly. The days of Jim Carey running around in green pajamas are over and I love it.
"I really wish Gia and Claire had became Tanner" - Honeybeefine
perhaps it worked for you, but for me it actually works against the concept. the films take themselves so seriously that whenever a comic book element actually happened, it came off as ridiculous and out of left field. it doesn't gel with the vibe that Nolan created. when I watch any of the original batmans, because they already have a surreal comic book atmosphere, you can totally buy crazy stuff like batmobile driving up a wall, freezing a whole city, penguins with rocket launchers, etc.
shareWell, he's (half) white in the comics, so maybe that's why they decided to replace BDW with TLJ.
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The sun is shining... but the ice is slippery.
Billy Dee Williams took the the role of Harvey Dent because he knew he would later become Two Face. He had a clause in his contract reserving the role for him, but Schumacher bought out his contract in order to cast Jones. I would have liked to see Williams as Two Face.
shareBilly Dee Williams has tried to debunk this rumor/urban legend:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1NXl4C9Bzs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5bHpcQCaA8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwB_5yxhsWk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqSxb_n9hbw
its kinda weird that people nowadays seem to crave the darker more depressing comic book movies as opposed to something that's easier to digest.