The future of theBatmanfranchise is a tiny bit uncertain, but the one absolute certainty is that it will continue on. Maybe it will beBen Affleckplaying theCaped Crusader, maybe it won’t. But Warner Bros. is planning to follow through with their most bankable character one way or the other and, that being the case, he is going to need some villains to fight, especially in the upcomingThe Batman. Not that Warner Bros. is going to come knocking, butArnold Schwarzeneggersays he’d be game to play another villain in aBatmanmovie, given the opportunity.
The actor recently spoke withFandangoand he was asked if he would be willing to have another go at playing avillain in a Batman movie. Not only would he do it, but he sounded very enthusiastic about the prospect. Here is what he had to say about it.
“Absolutely! I think all of those movies, if they’re written well, they’re entertaining. If it’s Batman or Batman and Robin, or X-Men or Spider-Man, all of them. If they’re written well, they have a great life. People enjoy them, and you’re able to see the grosses that they make worldwide. So, yes, of course I would.”
Not that it would be easy to forget, but in case you don’t remember,Arnold SchwarzeneggerplayedMr. Freezein 1997’sBatman & Robin. It may not be for the right reasons, but that movie, and specificallySchwarzenegger’s performance as Freeze, are very memorable.Joel Schumacherhad a very different, campy take on theBatmanmovies, which had Mr. Freeze hamming it up an awful lot and throwing out pun after pun. People have a fondness for the character, but not necessarily because they think he is a great villain in the pantheon of great movie villains. So the idea ofArnold Schwarzeneggerplaying another bad guy in a modern dayBatmanmovie might be a bit off-putting.
There is also the issue of whatBatman & Robindid to the franchise. The movie was a tremendous failure in every way imaginable. The movie currently holds a terrible 11 percent approval rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, with a truly awful 16 percent audience score to go with that. The movie also tanked at the box office, bringing in just $238 million, working from a very high $125 million production budget. Because of that, theBatmanfranchise was killed for nearly a decade beforeChristopher Nolanwas able to revive it withBatman Begins.
It wouldn’t be fair to place all of the blame onArnold Schwarzenegger’s shoulders. Movie fans know that, in the right context, he makes for a great addition to an action movie, so there is no reason to think he couldn’t play a goodBatmanvillain. Maybe if Clayface ever makes his way to the big screen? But his willingness to do it doesn’t mean that he’ll get the opportunity, so don’t expect to see him on the cast list forThe Batmanor anything like that.
