'Go f*** yourself': Tim Burton quit the Batman franchise over the nipple costume

Tim Burton quit the Batman franchise over the addition of nipples to the superhero's costume.

The 63-year-old director was at the helm of the 1989 movie Batman — which starred Jack Nicholson as the titular DC Comics superhero — and its 1992 sequel Batman Returns but explained that he was constantly being told his ideas were "too weird" even though costume designers had put nipples on the costume for the movie.

He said: "[Back then] they went the other way. That's the funny thing about it. But then I was like, 'Wait a minute. Okay. Hold on a second here. You complain about me, I'm too weird, I'm too dark, and then you put nipples on the costume? Go f*** yourself.' Seriously!"

The acclaimed director — who is known for directing kooky gothic movies such as Beetlejuice and Edward Scissorhands — added that the nipple costume drama was the reason he didn't return to the franchise to direct a third film.

He told Empire: "So yeah, I think that's why I didn't end up [doing a third film]."

Tim's comments come shortly after the costume designer Jose Fernandez — who worked on both of the films and designed the nipples aspect of the outfit worn by Val Kilmer — explained that the nipples were not a "fetish" addition to the costume and were more inspired by Roman armour.

He said: "With Val Kilmer's suit in Batman Forever, the nipples were one of those things that I added. It wasn't fetish to me, it was more informed by Roman armour, like Centurions. And in the comic books, the characters always looked like they were naked with spray paint on them - it was all about anatomy, and I like to push anatomy.

"I don't know exactly where my head was back in the day, but that's what I remember. And so I added the nipples. I had no idea there was going to end up being all this buzz about it."

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