Don’t expect George Clooney to ever return to the big screen as Batman.
The actor, who infamously portrayed the caped crusader in a film almost universally panned by fans and critics alike, has insisted there was no chance he would be back as the iconic superhero.
While Clooney, 62, did make a cameo as Bruce Wayne at the end of 2023’s The Flash, he reiterated his reluctance to return to the Batcave during an interview with Entertainment Tonight.
Speaking at the Los Angeles premiere of his new film The Boys In The Boat, Clooney joked there weren’t ‘enough drugs in the world’ for him to return to the role.
Asked how the cameo came to be, George joked with ET that there had been ‘such a clamor’ for him to play the iconic superhero again.
George Clooney made it clear he didn’t plan to ever play Batman again in an interview with ET; Clooney and his wife Amal Clooney at the Los Angeles premiere of The Boys in the Boat
The former ER star played the Caped Crusader in 1997’s critically reviled Batman & Robin, which is still considered the nadir of the Batman films
‘I thought there was such a clamor for me to come back as you know,’ The Descendants star said.
Apparently, in response to George’s comment, someone in the background made a face which did not go unnoticed by the star: ‘Why are you making that face? I saw the face!’ George said.
‘There was a clamor!’ he jokingly continued.
Referencing the infamous nipple-enhanced Batsuit he donned in 1997’s Batman & Robin, he continued joking: ‘I actually said, “Where are my rubber nipples!” They were like, “Can we do it without the rubber nipples?” I was like, “It’s not really my Batman, is it?”‘
The Clooney-led film Batman & Robin was a critical and commercial failure which effectively halted the franchise for several years.
In addition to George, it starred Chris O’Donnell as Robin, Uma Thurman as Poison Ivy, and Alicia Silverstone as Batgirl.
Joel Schumacher, the film’s director, offered an apology to fans of the franchise years later.
‘Look, I apologize. I want to apologize to every fan that was disappointed because I think I owe them that,’ Joel, who passed in 2020, told Vice in 2017.
In 2021 George said about the film: ‘I did one superhero movie and I f––ed it up so bad they won’t let me near the set,’ Clooney said during the Q&A, according to People.
Despite his distaste for the role and Batman & Robin’s legacy, Clooney, 62, did make a cameo as Bruce Wayne at the end of 2023’s The Flash
The film also starred Chris O’Donnell as Robin, Uma Thurman as Poison Ivy, Alicia Silverstone as Batgirl and Arnold Schwarzenegger as Mr. Freeze
Last week, George joked his appearance in The Flash was merely a one-off after The Hollywood Reporter asked if his stint meant he might be returning as Batman full-time.
‘Oh yeah. Somehow there were not a lot of requests for me to reprise my role as Batman, I don’t know why,’ he told the publication.
In February, DC Studios head James Gun denied rumors that Clooney would be back as Batman.
Gunn replied to a tweet that asked: ‘Is it true you’re casting George Clooney as the new main DCU Batman?’ to which he replied, ‘Absolutely not.’