While Batmans away, his villains will play. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who played Mister Freeze in the 1997 superhero film Batman & Robin, posted a photo over the weekend showing himself side-by-side with Uma Thurman, who played Poison Ivy alongside him in that movie.
“Freeze and Ivy, reunited. Watch out, Batman,” Schwarzenegger wrote in the caption.
George Clooney, who played Batman opposite them, was nowhere to be seen.
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Arnold Schwarzenegger and Uma Thurman in ‘Batman & Robin.’.
Warner Bros./courtesy Everett
Batman & Robin was much maligned upon release, to the point that when the DC superhero franchise was rebooted eight years later with Batman Begins, director Christopher Nolan and star Christian Bale took an opposite approach to the material. Joel Schumachers colorful aesthetic and Schwarzeneggers pun-filled dialogue (“What killed the dinosaurs? The Ice Age!”) were replaced by a gritty realism and no-nonsense hero.
Clooney specifically spent years making digs at the movie and his own performance in it. When Ben Affleck asked him about taking on the role, Clooneys advice was simple: “Dont do it.”
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But in recent years, its stars seem to have made their peace with Batman & Robin, and some critics have too. Darren Franich defended the movies over-the-top excess for Entertainment Weekly in 2022, observing that we now have plenty of serious, realistic Batman stories, “but who will give us Poison Ivy stripteasing out of a pink gorilla costume, and call it a kids movie?” Clooney even did what he said he would never do and briefly reprised his role as Bruce Wayne in the final scene of last yearsThe Flash (although he did not go so far as to don the Batsuit).
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Arnold Schwarzenegger and Uma Thurman in 2024.
Arnold Schwarzenegger/X
Schwarzenegger discussed the movie positively in the 2023 Netflix documentary Arnold, and previously referenced his Mister Freeze performance at the Oscars earlier this year, when he appeared onstage to present an award alongside his Twins costar Danny DeVito (who played the Penguin in 1992s Batman Returns, alongside Michelle Pfeiffers Catwoman and Michael Keatons Batman).
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“Arnold and I are presenting together, for a very obvious reason,” DeVito said, apparently setting up a reference to the 1988 comedy directed by Ivan Reitman. But then Schwarzenegger flipped the script by joking, “we both tried to kill Batman.” Keaton, sitting in the audience, responded with a “bring it on” gesture.
Robert Pattinson now wears the mantle of Batman, but dont expect to see his next movie until 2026. In the meantime, you can watch his villains parade around Gotham City in his absence in the upcoming HBO miniseries The Penguin.
