Before Matt Reeves’ Batman, Zack Snyder’s Batman, Christopher Nolan’s Batman and Joel Schumacher’s Batman – there was the Tim Burton Batman movies. While 1989’s Batman was a good movie with a great Batman villain in the form of Jack Nicholson’s Joker, 1992’s Batman Returns was even better – with the introduction of Michelle Pfeiffer’s Catwoman and Danny DeVito’s Penguin. And a rogue monkey.
Danny DeVito explained to EW how a note-delivering monkey on the set of Batman Returns was so alarmed by the sight (and sound) of a drooling, penguin-faced human hybrid – that he went straight for a particularly sensitive part of the anatomy.
“It was a long staircase and the monkey was delivering a note to The Penguin from Batman. They had a handler or whatever on the top of the thing and there was a person down below and they called the monkey with the note. They roll the cameras, monkey comes down the steps, I walk over in the Penguin suit drooling this gop and… making sounds. The monkey looked at me, froze, and then leapt right at my balls. Thank god it was a padded costume.”
Burton Batman actor Michael Keaton was supposed to return in Batgirl – which was unceremoniously scrapped after filming had wrapped but before release by Warner Bros. He will be seen in The Flash, which is finally set for release on June 16, 2023, after considerable delays.
Danny DeVito reteamed with Tim Burton for the Disney live-action remake Dumbo in 2019. Fortunately, all of the animals in that were CGI, so there was no risk of attacking monkeys. He also appeared in family adventure movie Jumanji: The Next Level in the same year. His main home these days is a certain Irish bar in long-running comedy series It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
Check out our guide to the best superhero movies.