The time Michael Jackson lobbied to play the Riddler in Batman Forever

No matter what anyone thinks of the late Michael Jackson, few can deny he was unique. Undoubtedly a musical genius, the media was fascinated with his “wacky” lifestyle. There was Bubbles the Chimp and tales that he slept in an oxygen tent, not to mention the rumors that he’d bought the bones of Joseph Merrick, uncharitably known as the Elephant Man.

In many respects, this unique mixture of genius and strangeness seems perfect for a comic book villain, and Jackson himself agreed.

In the mid-1990s, DC‘s Batman franchise underwent a major shift in tone. The first two Batman films, the simply titled Batman in 1989 and Batman Returns in 1992, were incredibly well received by fans. Director Tim Burton took the franchise from the cartoonish camp of the Adam West TV series and moved it far closer to the comic books of the era, giving Batman a cool gothic vibe that was not only on-trend but in line with Burton’s own artistic flair.

Michael Jackson wanted to play the Riddler in Batman Forever

Most people would have thought that Burton and star Michael Keaton were a lock-in to complete a trilogy, yet Batman Continues wasn’t to be. While fans loved Burton’s two movies, they weren’t family-friendly, and Warner wanted to move the franchise in a direction that it could exploit financially through an abundance of merchandise. Burton was pushed into an executive producer’s role for Batman Forever and replaced by Joel Schumacher, the director of classics like St. Elmo’s Fire, The Lost Boys, and Flatliners.

Val Kilmer also replaced Michael Keaton, and with a script that featured the Riddler right from the start, the production team was on the lookout to cast exactly the right person for the key role. Robin Williams was in contention, allegedly in competition with John Malkovich. Yet another surprising name was briefly in the mix — the King of Pop himself, Michael Jackson.

Speaking with the Chicago Sun-Times (via Screen Rant) before his death, Schumacher revealed that Jackson was desperate to land the part.

“He called me a few times. He wanted to play the Riddler in Batman Forever, and they wanted me to do his Scream music video,” the director revealed. “There was really no role for him in Batman Forever, and I was working on something else when the Scream video came out.”

Michael Jackson also wanted to be Spider-Man, so he tried to buy Marvel

The part of the Riddler in Batman Forever eventually went to Jim Carrey, who was at the height of his popularity, coming off the back of Ace Ventura, The Mask and Dumb and Dumber. While the movie wasn’t as positively received by fans as the Burton duology, perhaps due to cuts, it was far from a disaster, and Carrey’s performance was seen as one of the standout elements.

Jackson, however, wasn’t deterred. A huge comic book fan, he also wanted to be Spider-Man, and this time was willing to buy the whole of Marvel to ensure it happened.

In 2020, Taj Jackson, Michael’s nephew, revealed that the King of Pop had been in talks with Stan Lee to make it happen in the 1990s.

“I remember being with my brothers and him talking about purchasing Marvel,” Taj said. “He wanted to do that with Stan Lee. They had been talking and discussing that. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen; I think they were shut down from doing that. I don’t know the reasons why, but they were adamantly in the process of doing that.”

At the time, Marvel was in trouble amidst an industry slump, and nowhere near the powerhouse it is today. Shares that had once been worth $35.75 in 1993 were worth just $2.375 three years later, and the company was heavily in debt. Jackson, who had always been a shrewd investor, clearly saw an opportunity to make a significant acquisition and finally get himself into movies.

Stan Lee confirmed the story in a 2012 interview with Moviefone.

"“He felt that would be the only way that he could play Spider-Man. I knew Michael Jackson, and with the things he discussed with me, I felt he wanted to be Spider-Man. That was the character that interested him.”"

Taj Jackson agreed, saying for Michael, having access to Spider-Man was all important.

"“He knew all the characters. So it was not only Spider-Man [that he wanted to buy]. But yeah, he probably wanted to be Spider-Man. He would be so excited about it. He was such a movie buff in that way that I think he would have thought this is the greatest thing since sliced bread, all these characters coming together.”"

Eventually, Jackson missed out, with Toy Biz buying Marvel Entertainment Group in 1997 and selling everything to Disney in 2009. However, despite another setback, Jackson would have one final attempt to get into superhero movies in 1999, meeting with X-Men director Bryan Singer to lobby for the role of Professor X, which was eventually won by Patrick Stewart.

“I said to him, ‘Do you know Xavier is an older white guy?'” producer Lauren Shuler Donner told The Hollywood Reporter. “And Michael said, ‘Oh yeah. You know, I can wear makeup.'” I think we can all agree the studio made the right choice with Patrick Stewart on that one.

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