Akiva Goldman, screenwriter of 1997’s universally-panned comic book adaptation Batman & Robin, has apologised for the film.

• Read More: ‘The Batman’ movie: release date, plot details, cast and everything we know so far

The fourth instalment of Warner Bros’ original series of live action Batman movies was directed by Joel Schumacher and starred George Clooney as Batman, Chris O’Donnell as Robin, and Arnold Schwarzenegger and Uma Thurman as villains Mr. Freeze and Poison Ivy.

It is regularly named among the worst films of all time, and holds an 11% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

“Joel Schumacher’s tongue-in-cheek attitude hits an unbearable limit in Batman & Robin, resulting in a frantic and mindless movie that’s too jokey to care much for,” reads that site’s critical consensus.

Now Goldman, who wrote the film as well as its better-received predecessor Batman Forever, has given his thoughts on the film in a new interview with Collider.

“Batman And Robin, that one just confused me,” Goldman said. “I mean, we didn’t mean for it to be bad. I swear, nobody was like, ‘This will be bad.’ I mean, here’s the irony, there was a reel that was put together halfway through [filming] where it actually looked dark in an interesting way. It just is what it is and I’m sorry. I think we’re all sorry.”

Goldman, who won an Academy Award in 2001 for writing A Beautiful Mind, has recently delved back into the DC Universe with more success, creating and developing the ongoing Netflix series Titans.

Meanwhile, the latest motion picture reboot of Batman will see Robert Pattinson take over as the superhero.

The Batman was due to be released in June 2021, but that has now been pushed back to October following coronavirus-enforced shooting delays.