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Sam Hamm is an American screenwriter. Hamm wrote the original screenplay for Batman that Tim Burton planned to use when production began. A collective decision at Warner Brothers was made to replace Hamm with Warren Skaaren, who became the primary writer during principal photography at Pinewood Studios.

History[]

Influencing DC Comics[]

Hamm created the notion that Bruce Wayne travelled around the globe for training in his 1986 draft for the movie, predating Batman #431 in the spring of 1989. While Hamm was promoting the upcoming movie in the United States at conventions, he was invited by Denny O'Neil to write for Detective Comics' 50th Anniversary, the result was Batman: Blind Justice, which introduced Bruce Wayne's mentors, Tsunetomo, Chu Chin Li and Henri Ducard, who later appeared (combined with a mortal version of the Ra's al Ghul character) in Batman Begins.

Unproduced screenplays[]

Hamm wrote an unused Batman II screenplay with a completely different story than what appeared in the final film. Burton disliked the story so much that he hired Daniel Waters to take the narrative in a completely different direction. Hamm later petitioned the guild to receive "story" credit on Batman Returns shortly before its release, resulting in the author of the final shooting script, Wesley Strick, being removed completely. However, early trailers and Batman Returns: The Official Movie Book reflect the original and more accurate credits. The only other Hamm scripts that were ever produced are Never Cry Wolf and Monkeybone. Hamm is known for numerous unproduced screenplays such as Fantastic Four, Planet of the Apes and Watchmen notably Alan Moore's favorite of all the scripts based on his work.

Return to Batman[]

In 2021, AT&T announced that Hamm was returning to the Batman franchise to write the comic book series Batman '89. The series was successful, leading to a sequel series Batman '89: Echoes after the Discovery purchase of WB/DC.


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