He had been fighting cancer for a year. Joel Schumacher, the director of Batman Forever (1995) and Batman and Robin (1997) but also of Lost Generation (1987), died of cancer at the age of 80, those responsible for his communication said on Monday.
The one who had started his career as a costume designer, before becoming a big name in Hollywood, died "peacefully" in New York.
Apologies for "killing a baby"
The director had taken over from Tim Burton, and his first Batman , with Val Kilmer, had success at the box office.
But the two Batman had been criticized both by many critics and by fans, who had inter alia taken umbrage of the nipples added to the costume of Batman. In an interview in 2017, Schumacher told Vice that he wanted to "apologize to all disappointed fans" for Batman and Robin , adding that he felt like he had "killed a baby".
Costumes before production
Joel Schumacher started out as a costume designer in the 1970s on films like Woody and the Robots (1973). St Elmo's Fire (1985) was Schumacher's first success as a director.
Followed Lost Generation (1987) and Forbidden Experience (1990), before he embarked on the Batman for Warner Bros.
He is credited with helping to launch careers like those of Matthew McConaughey and Colin Farrell.
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