The Batman universes of Tim Burton and Joel Schumacher have a couple of similarities but also a lot of differences, but there’s one Arnold Schwarzenegger Easter egg in Batman Returns that could link both universes. After a film adaptation of the 1960s TV series Batman, the Caped Crusader returned to the big screen in Tim Burton’s Batman, in 1989, with Michael Keaton playing the title character. The success of Batman made way for a sequel titled Batman Returns, and while it’s now regarded as one of the best superhero movies ever made, its tone was too dark and the studio decided to go in a different direction for its third Batman movie.
This led to Tim Burton stepping down and Joel Schumacher taking over, with Val Kilmer now playing Bruce Wayne/Batman in Batman Forever. Although very different from Batman Returns, Batman Forever was a commercial success, granting it a sequel, Batman & Robin, with Schumacher back as director and George Clooney playing the Caped Crusader. The debate over whether Burton and Schumacher’s Batman movies exist in the same universe or not continues, and one Easter egg in Batman Returns could be an interesting link to Schumacher’s Batman & Robin, all thanks to Arnold Schwarzenegger.
