Joel Schumacher has died at the age of 80.
According to TMZ, the famed costume designer-turned-director of films including Lost Boys, Phantom of the Opera and two Batman films, passed away on Monday (June 22) in New York City after a long battle with cancer.
Joel rose to fame in 1985 with the film St. Elmo's Fire — his third feature film, which he directed and co-wrote. From there he went on to direct the cult-classic The Lost Boys, starring Kiefer Sutherland, Corey Feldman, Jason Patric, and Corey Haim. His next blockbuster was the 1990 horror thriller "Flatliners," which starred Julia Roberts, Kiefer Sutherland, Kevin Bacon, and William Baldwin. He also adapted two John Grisham novels in the '90s — The Client in 1994 and A Time to Kill in 1996.
During that time, Joel was additionally handed the reins of the Batman franchise when Tim Burton exited Warner Bros, Variety reports. He went on to direct Batman Forever in 1995 and his second and last film in the franchise was 1997’s Batman and Robin, with George Clooney and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Joel, who was openly gay throughout his career in Hollywood, was famously known for introducing nipples to the costumes worn by Batman and Robin, "leaning into the longstanding latent homoeroticism between the two characters."
Joel also earned critical acclaim for the 1993 film Falling Down and the 1996 film 8mm.
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