Joel Schumacher says he never really wanted to make Batman & Robin and that he wishes he had taken the Batman franchise more in its current direction. “I think I’m the most envious of Chris Nolan because he got to do The Dark Knight — and that’s the one I begged to do as my second Batman film,†he tells IFC. “I wanted to do a whole other thing, because we had kind of re-invented franchise with Val as Batman and it was a very young, sexy, and much less expensive movie. We brought in Robin and I wanted to make The Dark Knight desperately, but the studio didn’t want that and it’s their money and they’re my bosses.†It’s tough to imagine anyone other than Christian Bale bringing the sort of gravitas to Bruce Wayne that exemplifies the current series, but Schumacher doesn’t see it that way. “For me, Val Kilmer was the best Batman,†he says. Sorry, George Clooney. [IFC]