The sequel to Batman that Warner Bros didn’t really want, and the hit 1991 firefighter drama in this week’s podcast.
In the latest episode of Film Stories, a deeper dig into 1992’s Batman Returns, and how 1991’s firefighter drama Backdraft suddenly hotted up behind the scenes.
With Batman Returns, director Tim Burton had no original intention of coming back, after the problems he’d been through on 1989’s Batman. But promised a freer hand, he signed on the dotted line – and it’d be fair to say he didn’t quite give Warner Bros the film it expected or wanted.
Backdraft wasn’t quite as dramatic a story, but it did go from a relatively small drama to something a whole lot bigger when director Ron Howard expressed interest. And there was also the drive for authenticity – and how just over $1m spent on special effects ultimately paid dividends.
Stories of both are told in this episode.
Read more: When Tim Burton was set to direct a Catwoman film, starring Michelle Pfieffer
