<Li> Nicky Katt as Spike </Li> <Li> John Ingle as the Doctor </Li> <P> With the box office success of Batman Forever in June 1995, Warner Bros. immediately commissioned a sequel . They hired director Joel Schumacher and writer Akiva Goldsman to reprise their duties the following August, and decided it was best to fast track production for a June 1997 target release date, which is a break from the usual 3 - year gap between films . Schumacher wanted to homage both the broad camp style of the 1960s television series and the work of Dick Sprang . The storyline of Batman & Robin was conceived by Schumacher and Goldsman during pre-production on A Time to Kill . Portions of Mr. Freeze's back - story were based on the Batman: The Animated Series episode "Heart of Ice", written by Paul Dini . </P> <P> While Chris O'Donnell reprises the role of Robin, Val Kilmer decided not to reprise the role of Batman from Batman Forever . Schumacher admitted he had difficulty working with Kilmer on Forever . "He sort of quit," Schumacher said, "and we sort of fired him ." Kilmer said he was not aware of the fast track production and was already committed to The Saint (1997). Schumacher originally had a strong interest in casting William Baldwin in Kilmer's place, but George Clooney was cast instead . Schumacher believed Clooney could provide a lighter interpretation of the character than Michael Keaton (in Batman and Batman Returns) and Kilmer . The shooting schedule allowed Clooney to simultaneously work on ER without any scheduling conflicts . </P>

Is batman and robin a sequel to batman forever