Fans of the fabled “Schumacher Cut” ofBatman Foreverhave had their hopes confirmed. According to a report byCollider, the existence ofJoel Schumacher’sdirector cut was confirmed byAkiva Goldsman, the screenwriter of the 1995 threequel starringVal Kilmeras the Caped Crusader. Goldsman was participating at a “Producers on Producing” panel at San Diego Comic Con, hosted by Collider and moderated by Editor-in-Chief Steve Weintraub, and he not only confirmed its existence, he shared details on what it would take to release it.
The"Release the Schumacher Cut" movement gained steamafter the successful push by fans to convince Warner Bros. to release Zack Snyder’s original vision ofJustice League. The#ReleaseTheSnyderCutcampaign emboldened a new legion of fans to pressure the studio to revisitBatman Forever, the campy follow-up to Tim Burton’s Batman films starring Michael Keaton.For years, rumors persisted that an original cut of the film was much more serious, with additional scenes offering a darker tone closer to the Burton films. During the panel, Goldsman confirmed that was true:
Yes, it does exist.
Batman Forever
Goldsman went into additional detail on the original director’s cut, which is rumored to be two-and-a-half hours long, 30 minutes longer than the theatrical cut. He said he remains committed to releasing Schumacher’s original cut, especially after the director died in 2020 at the age of 80 after a battle with cancer.
“There is a preview called ‘Preview One.' Most of the material that is available is put back together.There’s not a lot out there that folks haven’t seen that you couldn’t cobble (together). I did talk to Warner. This was one administration ago. My fantasy was to try and resurrect (the original cut) as a sort of celebration with Joel after he died.”
A Giant Bat and Psychological Undertones
The Schumacher Cut is best known for including a scene in which Bruce Wayne has a nightmare in which he goes face to face with a giant bat,a scene seen briefly in the film’s trailer but removed from the theatrical cut. Additional scenes highlight Bruce’s personal psychological torment over his parents' murder, whichVal Kilmer portrays with absolute seriousness.
“It was darker. Bruce was haunted by his past. He felt guilt. It’s all the stuff you read. None of that is mysterious. It was a more modern interpretation of the narrative, and what’s not dissimilar to those [stories] that we sort of caught up with now. I’ve seen it. It was put back together.”
Goldman also revealed how complete the film was, stating that some elements were not finished and ready for public view. He also revealed the cost it would take to finish it. However, the recent Discovery merger has derailed his efforts.
“There’s some visual effects that need to be finished. There would be some music that would have to be if not re-scored or rewritten.The whole soup to nuts was about a million bucks.They were on the verge of doing it and then Warner got sold again. There’s a-whole-nother DC. Once the new DC world is moving forward, I will bat my eyes with everybody again and see if once more we can answer that.”
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Why Do Fans Hate Batman Forever?
Despite earning over $335 million worldwide (according to Box Office Mojo)Batman Foreveris not held in high regard by fans. Most of that can be tied to the film’s tone and garish color palette, which was a huge shift from the Burton films. Producer Michael Uslan had always wanted aBatmanfilm closer to the darker tone from the comics of the 1970s, which is exactly what Burton provided.Criticism over the violence inBatman Returns, however, caused Warner Bros. to demand a lighter, family-friendly tone.These changes causedMichael Keaton to leave the film, and fans were not happy with the result.
Although the director’s cut has been described as not as campy as the theatrical version, that likely isn’t 100% true.The film still has over-the-top performances from Jim Carrey and Tommy Lee Jones, as well as the “Bat Nipple” suits, which many point to as part of the film’s issues.The additional scenes likely added more balance to these scenes, but hardly makes it a totally different film. James Gunn, the new co-CEO of DC Studios, has not commented on the Schumacher Cut.
