Batman Forever Keaton chose not to reprise his role, William Baldwin and Ethan Hawke were considered as a replacement before Kilmer joined the cast. The film was released on June 16, 1995, receiving mixed reviews, but was a financial success. "Batman Forever" grossed over $336 million worldwide and became the sixth-highest-grossing film worldwide of 1995. The film was followed by "Batman & Robin" in 1997, with Schumacher returning as the director and George Clooney replacing Kilmer as Batman. In Gotham City, the crime fighter Batman defuses a hostage situation caused by a criminal known as Two-Face, the alter ego of the former
Val Kilmer Me Again," again opposite Whalley, and in TNT's "Billy the Kid." After several delays, director Oliver Stone finally started production on the film "The Doors", based on the band of the same name. Kilmer spoke with Oliver Stone early on, concerned about what he might want to do with the story because Kilmer didn't believe in or want to promote substance abuse. Kilmer saw Morrison as having picked the wrong heroes, who had different issues, that were not part of the creativity or inspiration. Kilmer saw Morrison's story as one that could be told "a thousand different ways" and didn't