Whether you see that moment as a “sign” like Val Kilmer did or mere coincidence, that officially began his journey as Batman.
I can’t be the only one who’s imagining a version of Batman Begins where, instead of the big moment happening in what becomes the Batcave underneath Wayne Manor, Christian Bale’s Bruce Wayne is overcome by the swarm of bats and realizes he’s conquered his childhood fear while visiting an actual bat cave elsewhere in the world like Val Kilmer did… but I digress.
However, once Warner Bros cast Kilmer as the Caped Crusader for Batman Forever, the studio dropped Rene Russo from the role of Chase Meridian, reportedly because the executives felt she was too old to be paired with Kilmer, and Nicole Kidman took her place.