5 Batman movies to watch while waiting for The Batman

2. Batman Forever

After Tim Burton took the franchise in a much darker than expected route in Batman Returns, Warner Bros. was hoping to bring the franchise back in a more family-friendly direction – mostly due to the fact that Returns made $150 million less than the previous Bat flick (though it was still a financial success) and because the darker direction upset McDonalds.

As a result, Tim Burton was out and Joel Schumacher was in as director. And because of the way domino effects work, this also meant Michael Keaton had to put down his cowl for Val Kilmer to pick it up. Speaking of dominoes, the production also added new pieces to the table in the form of Chris O’Donnell as Robin, Tommy Lee Jones as Two Face and Jim Carrey as The Riddler.

With The Riddler set to return to our big screens in The Batman (this time, in the form of Paul Dano), it would be apropos to remember Carrey’s sillier, over the top rendition before we see Dano deliver what’s expected to be a more grounded, sinister performance.

Upon its release (and in the time since 1995), Forever has received a bad rep for being the more kid-friendly Batman film right after Burton’s highly-praised darker offerings, so while we wait for The Batman to hit theaters, now is a good time to reevaluate and maybe appreciate a Bat flick that never deserved its poor reputation.