It’s been almost 30 years since Batman & Robin released in theatres, and while the movie has been critically panned and killed the franchise for a while; there has been a new appreciation for the films found within the fandom.
Though it could be a long time before fans will get to see another ‘camp’ version of Batman, two iconic actors from the 90s film have just posted a sweet little reunion.
Batman & Robin Villain Reunion
Posting on his Twitter account, Arnold Schwarzenegger—who played Mr. Freeze in the 1997 movie—shared a photo with Uma Thurman, the actress who played Pamela Isley a.k.a. Poison Ivy. Check out Schwarzenegger’s post:
With the two meeting up, it’s not likely that they will be reprising their roles or anything, but the post did gather some reactions that showed some appreciation for the widely bashed film.
Schwarzenegger and Thurman’s Freeze and Ivy
Though the Batman movies may be synonymous with broody and dark nowadays, Batman & Robin came around a more whimsical time, and that’s how the characters were treated.
Schwarzenegger was already an imposing figure by himself, but his Mr. Freeze is best known for delivering some god-awful ice puns while he’s out collecting diamonds to power up his ice-based death ray.
As for Thurman’s Poison Ivy, she’s the classic nerd-turned-seductress trope, but Thurman fully embraces the campiness of the movie, thus making her Ivy stand out with her cartoonishly lusty delivery and array of colorful plant-themed costumes.
It’s also easy to forget that this movie also includes Batman villain Bane; but here he’s more of a typical brute that Ivy uses for muscle, rather than the tactical and martial arts master that Bruce Wayne takes on in the comics.
Batman & Robin in Retrospect
It’s no mystery that the Joel Schumacher films were heavily bashed when they came out, and that’s because a lot of fans didn’t appreciate the departure from the dark and broody Tim Burton movies; not to mention the more serious tone that Batman: The Animated Series also brought to the table.
Looking back though, it was clear that Schumacher was trying to bring back the campiness of the Adam West-era Batman—which still has its fans, despite how unapologetically goofy the property is. Schumacher’s films are more of a marriage of the silly Adam West Batman with the gothic stylization of the Burton Batman films.
If anything, Youtuber Patrick Willems has an in-depth analysis of learning how to appreciate the Schumacher Batman movies, contextualizing it to the entire mythos of Batman over the decades, including the newer iterations by Christopher Nolan and Zack Snyder:
Batman Moving Forward
For now, fans are waiting on the sequel to 2022’s The Batman from Matt Reeves which could come out sometime in 2026.
While that film hasn’t started production though, there is an incoming spinoff series The Penguin featuring Colin Farrell’s Oz Cobb from the first movie. It’s supposed to depict the Penguin’s rise to power and is said to be a mix of gangster classics like Goodfellas, The Godfather, and The Sopranos, but with a comic book flavor on it.
Catch The Penguin when it premieres on Max this Sept. 19.