Batman & Robin (film) to keep their partnership together. It is also to date the only live-action film appearance of Batgirl, who helps the title characters fight the villains. Warner Bros. fast-tracked development for "Batman & Robin" following the box office success of the previous film, "Batman Forever". Schumacher and Goldsman conceived the storyline during pre-production on "A Time to Kill", while Val Kilmer decided not to reprise the role over scheduling conflicts with "The Saint". Schumacher had a strong interest in casting William Baldwin in Kilmer's place before George Clooney won the role. Principal photography began in September 1996 and finished in January
Val Kilmer attended Berkeley Hall School, a Christian Science school in Los Angeles, until ninth grade. He attended Chatsworth High School with Kevin Spacey and Mare Winningham, and also attended the Hollywood Professional School. He became the youngest person at the time to be accepted into the Juilliard School's Drama Division, where he was a member of Group 10. In 1981, while at Juilliard, Kilmer co-authored and starred in the play "How It All Began," which was performed at the Public Theater at the New York Shakespeare Festival. Kilmer turned down a role in Francis Ford Coppola's 1983 film "The Outsiders," as