The Batchlers read the 1939-1940 comics by Bob Kane and Bill Finger, as well as some of the then-current Knightfall saga, to get a sense of what modern comic book fans were reading. So, right away, I felt allowed to be in this world because there's a character with a girl's name.' The only people I knew named Robin were girls. When asked what brought her to the character, she shared, 'Our local store didn't carry Wonder Woman. So, it was sort of fun to pick it up again.' He was always the superhero that I related to as a kid. 'I had read Batman comics as a little girl, but stopped when I was at college. Tim Burton would go on to make Ed Wood as the Batchlers began work with Joel Schumacher.įor research, the Batchlers read several comics, which, for Janet, was a visit to the past. Superman may be Clark Kent, but Lois Lane is always Lois Lane and Lex Luthor is always Lex Luthor.Īnd when we said that, Tim just kinda went, 'Yes!' And at that point, we pretty much had the job.'

All the villains also have secret identities. And it's not just that Batman is Bruce Wayne. After approving Joel Schumacher to take over as the director, Burton met with the Batchlers, who agreed with him that 'the key element to Batman is his duality. The truth is that Burton was only around to approve his creative successors. Needless to say, there's been massive speculation around the Internet on how much involvement Tim Burton may have had in the third Batman film. While Disney eventually bought the script, Warner Brothers was so impressed that they offered the Batchlers to write for their company's 'most important corporate asset': Batman.īen Wan sat down with Janet Scott Batchler to discuss the development of the script, confirm and debunk old rumors, and uncover some little-known facts on the film. Lee and Janet Scott Batchler were screenwriters looking to break into the industry and, after nine drafts, finally sent out their spec script, Smoke and Mirrors, to studios around town. PLEASE NOTE: This interview was originally posted on Novemon the former Batman site and has been moved here.

Batman forever movie facts