Kevin Smith has, once again, found himself in the middle of a DC movie lore. Following the time he nearly made a Superman movie in which Nicolas Cage fought a giant spider, Smith revealed on his podcast, Fatman Beyond, that not only has he seen the rumored extended cut of Joel Schumacher’s Batman Forever, he has a copy.
“You know what I got a copy of?” Smith told Fatman Beyond co-host Marc Bernardin. “Batman Forever, the ‘Schumacher Cut.’”
Batman Forever’s near-three-hour version is the stuff of legend. With images of Val Kilmer’s Bruce Wayne staring face-to-face with a giant bat seared into the memories of millennials who first saw the picture on trading cards and promo materials, the “Schumacher Cut” is said to be a darker, more serious version of the director’s first Batman movie. Of course, who knows what that actually means, considering the film still features a scene where Robin shows off his karate skills while doing the laundry—much to Alfred’s delight.
Rumors of a “Schumacher Cut” have floated around the internet for some time. Deleted scenes have appeared on YouTube and the Batman Forever DVD, while photos showing Tommy Lee Jones’ Two-Face in Arkham surfaced online.
Interest in the restored version of Schumacher’s film grew during the “Release The Snyder Cut” fan campaign of the late 2010s. In July 2020, Bernadin brought the myth to the masses in a series of since-deleted tweets. “I have it on VERY good authority that a 170-minute cut of Joel Schumacher’s Batman Forever exists,” he wrote. “Warner Bros. is unsure if there’s any hunger for what was described to me as a ‘much darker, more serious’ version.”
Smith believes he “probably shouldn’t be talking about this” but promises to get a copy to Bernardin, so the two can discuss the cut on their podcast. For now, we’ll have to go by Smith’s five-word review: “I’ve watched it. It’s longer.”
[via The L.A. Times]
