George Clooney addresses the controversial inclusion of nipples on his Batsuit in Batman and Robin, 27 years after the movie’s release. Directed by Joel Schumacher, the DC comic book movie marked Clooney’s first and only outing as the Caped Crusader, and it remains a divisive take on the character.
Speaking with Variety for a segment in which he attempts to guess lines from his famous movies, Clooney correctly identifies “This is why Superman works alone” as being from Batman and Robin. The actor then launches into a humorous trip down memory lane, jokingly declaring: “I was the best Batman and you know it, and I know it. And I don’t want to hear anymore sh*t.”
Clooney’s attention then turns to his Batsuit. “Batman has nipples, dude,” he says. According to the actor, the nipples are tied to Batman’s relationship with Bats. “How do you think he feeds the children?” Clooney asks. “The little bats.”
Looking back at his experience filming the critically panned Batman and Robin, which also starred Chris O’Donnell, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Uma Thurman, and Alicia Silverstone, Clooney recalls that “It was not the most fun shoot because of the suit.” He goes on to explain what filming under Schumacher’s direction was actually like while in the rigid costume:
“It was a very painful suit and you couldn’t move. I would be laying on a board and Joel Schumacher would direct you with a microphone with a giant speaker. And he would go: ‘Okay, George, and here we go. And ready, and your parents are dead. You have nothing to live for. And action.’ And then they’d just prop me up and I go, ‘I’m Batman.’ And they go, ‘And cut!’ And they drop me back down, and they carry me out on a board.”
The Batsuit featured in the 1997 movie was infamously divisive, and the nipples have long been a source of ridicule. Nipples actually first appeared on Val Kilmer’s Batsuit in 1995’s Batman Forever, also directed by Schumacher, but they became even more pronounced in Batman and Robin.
George Clooney’s Batman gets ready to fight in Batman & Robin
Schumacher has credited costume designer Jose Fernandez with the choice to add nipples to the Batsuit. Speaking with Mel Magazine (via No Film School), Fernandez explained that the decision has its origins partially in Ancient Roman history:
“With Val Kilmer’s suit in Batman Forever, the nipples were one of those things that I added. It wasn’t fetish to me, it was more informed by Roman armor—like Centurions. And, in the comic books, the characters always looked like they were naked with spray paint on them—it was all about anatomy, and I like to push anatomy. I don’t know exactly where my head was at back in the day, but that’s what I remember. And so, I added the nipples. I had no idea there was going to end up being all this buzz about it.”
Clearly, Fernandez didn’t foresee that adding nipples to the Batsuit would end up being as controversial as it ended up being. It’s worth noting that this design decision hasn’t returned in any subsequent incarnation of the character, including those played by Christian Bale, Ben Affleck, or Robert Pattinson.
Though Clooney returned at the end of The Flash (2023) to reprise his role as Bruce Wayne in an alternate dimension, the character is shown wearing a normal business suit. The last time the nippled Batsuit was seen on screen, then, was almost 30 years ago, and it doesn’t seem likely it will return anytime soon.
Next up for the iconic DC character is Matt Reeves’ The Batman: Part 2. Pattinson will reprise his role as the Caped Crusader in the sequel, which is set to start filming in April 2026. The film is currently scheduled for release on October 1, 2027.
It’s also been announced that another Batman movie called The Brave and the Bold is in development. This project, unlike Reeves’, will be part of James Gunn’s new DCU, and it will feature Bruce’s son, Damian, aka Robin. Though the Batsuit designs in these two movies are sure to be very different from each other, the era of nipples being included on the costume seemingly ended with Batman and Robin.
Release Date
June 20, 1997
Runtime
2h 5m
Director
Joel Schumacher