"They say I was a bad Batman, that it was my fault, that I buried the franchise. But the truth is, it was a big project. I was pretty intimidated in that world. I did the best I could in the situation I was given"
About this Quote
“They say” is doing heavy work: he frames the criticism as a chorus, a public narrative that’s already calcified. Then he slips in the key pivot - “But the truth is” - not to dunk on fans, but to relocate the story from personal incompetence to structural scale. “A big project” is actor-speak for a machine: studio mandates, tonal decisions, marketing pressures, and a director’s vision that may or may not align with what the public wanted. His “intimidated” admission is strategic vulnerability, a way of sounding human in a genre that turns performers into interchangeable branding elements.
The most revealing phrase is “the situation I was given.” He’s not denying agency, but he’s signaling limits: actors are often the most visible, least powerful participants in blockbuster decisions. The subtext is modern Hollywood accountability theater - we demand confession, he offers it, but on terms that protect him from becoming the whole cautionary tale.
It also reads as a late-career posture. Only someone with Clooney’s cultural security can afford to concede imperfection without pleading for absolution. He’s not trying to win the argument; he’s trying to end it.
Quote Details
| Topic | Learning from Mistakes |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Clooney, George. (2026, January 17). They say I was a bad Batman, that it was my fault, that I buried the franchise. But the truth is, it was a big project. I was pretty intimidated in that world. I did the best I could in the situation I was given. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/they-say-i-was-a-bad-batman-that-it-was-my-fault-54030/
Chicago Style
Clooney, George. "They say I was a bad Batman, that it was my fault, that I buried the franchise. But the truth is, it was a big project. I was pretty intimidated in that world. I did the best I could in the situation I was given." FixQuotes. January 17, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/they-say-i-was-a-bad-batman-that-it-was-my-fault-54030/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"They say I was a bad Batman, that it was my fault, that I buried the franchise. But the truth is, it was a big project. I was pretty intimidated in that world. I did the best I could in the situation I was given." FixQuotes, 17 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/they-say-i-was-a-bad-batman-that-it-was-my-fault-54030/. Accessed 5 Feb. 2026.



