Michael Keaton talks why he didn't do "Batman Forever"

Despite long being past the shadow of his former tenure as the Caped Crusader of the big screen, many fans still see Michael Keaton as one of the definite actors to have portrayed Batman in film. With his career revitalized thanks to his brilliant performance in "Birdman" and then "Spotlight", the actor is now set to tackle the Marvel Cinematic Universe by playing the villainous Vulture in "Spider-Man Homecoming" this July.

However, one question that has finally been answered is why Keaton decided to hang the cape and cowl and not return as Batman for Joel Schumacher's "Batman Forever". In an interview with THR (and reported by Comic Book.com), the actor revealed he knew he had to leave before things turned ugly as the director had a different outlook at how to do the next Batman film after Tim Burton's two films that came before it.

"It sucked. I knew it was in trouble when he said, 'Why does everything have to be so dark?'"

As it is, Batman Forever went on to cast Val Kilmer as the new Bats, while the sequel Batman and Robin saw George Clooney in the role when Kilmer didn't return. Well, we all know how the Schumacher films turned out... We can all move on and put that to rest now.