EDITOR’S NOTE: BOF is breaking down BATMAN FOREVER on our BOF CHAPTER BY CHAPTER podcast for the film’s 30th anniversary. We’re currently just a little past the halfway mark of the film, and you can listen to all episodes to date HERE or wherever you get your podcasts. – Jett
Val Kilmer passed on April 1, 2025. He was 65.
If you’re reading this here on BOF, you most likely think of Val Kilmer as one of the Batmen (Batmans?) on film — the one who succeeded Michael Keaton. And that’s fair because my affection for him is primarily due to his turn as The Dark Knight in BATMAN FOREVER.
But I was a fan of Val way before he donned the cape and cowl.
I first discovered him in the spoof comedy TOP SECRET!, where he played an Elvis Presley-like character (or at least the Elvis we saw in his 1960s movies). Then there was REAL GENIUS (where he played a character with the last name of “Knight” — it’s ALL connected!), TOP GUN, and then his as Jim Morrison in THE DOORS. And lest we forget, the role that ultimately led to him becoming Batman, his iconic performance as Doc Holiday in the classic TOMBSTONE.
While most of us may know Val first and foremost for those films, those are just the highlights. Check out his resume on IMBD. He was a fantastic actor as a leading man or a character actor in a supporting role.
But since this is Batman On Film, let’s now focus on his turn as Batman…
Bottom line: Val was a damn good Batman, damn good Bruce Wayne, in a damn good — and VERY successful Batman movie.
BATMAN FOREVER has been wrongly lumped in with its sequel, BATMAN AND ROBIN, and has gotten an unfair and incorrect reputation as being a bust.
False.
Not only was BATMAN FOREVER a huge hit back in 1995, but Val’s Batman casting felt like and was viewed as a breath of fresh air. People were excited about it. Lest we forget, the Batman film franchise was on shaky ground after BATMAN RETURNS in 1992. FOREVER not only got the series back on track (albeit briefly), but came with a mini version of Batmania.
Anyone who says that BATMAN FOREVER was a failure and Val Kilmer’s Batman wasn’t popular either wasn’t around 30 years ago, has an agenda against the film, or is ignorant AF. Probably all three.
Val’s Batman was dark, romantic, and heroic. He shined as Bruce Wayne, giving us a celebrity Bruce in public and one with a tortured soul in private. Really, it was the first time Batman’s alter ego was explored psychologically. Although his time as Batman was short, his Batman legacy and place in the character’s history will live on.
“I’m both Bruce Wayne and Batman. Not because I have to be, now, because I choose to be.”
Fairwell, Val. – Bill “Jett” Ramey
