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 generally well-reviewed, but received only a limited release. The same year, he teamed with his "True Romance" co-star, Christian Slater, and the two starred in the low-budget film, "Hard Cash", also known as "Run for the Money". In 2003 Kilmer starred alongside Kate Bosworth in the drama/thriller "Wonderland", portraying porn star John Holmes. He also appeared in "The Missing", where he again worked with "Willow" director Ron Howard. The next year, he starred in David Mamet's "Spartan", where he played a United States government secret agent who is assigned the task of rescuing the kidnapped daughter of the President. He