Val Kilmer that same year, he starred opposite Al Pacino and Robert De Niro in "Heat", which is now considered one of the best crime/drama films of the 1990s. In December 1993, "Batman Forever" director Joel Schumacher had seen "Tombstone" and was most impressed with Kilmer's performance as Doc Holliday. Schumacher felt him to be perfect for the role of Batman, though at the time, the role was still Michael Keaton's. In July 1994, Keaton decided not to return for a third Batman film after 1992's "Batman Returns", due to "creative differences". William Baldwin (who previously worked with Schumacher on "Flatliners") was
Val Kilmer received Delta Force-like training in preparation for the role. Subsequently, he had a role in the drama, "Stateside", and starred (again with Slater) in the thriller "Mindhunters", which was filmed in 2003 but not released until 2005. Kilmer next appeared in the big budget Oliver Stone production, "Alexander", which received poor reviews. Also in 2004, Kilmer returned to the theatre to play Moses in a Los Angeles musical production of "", produced by BCBG founder Max Azria. The production played at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood and also featured Adam Lambert. Kilmer had previously played Moses in the animated film