The 170-minute version of Joel Schumacher’sBatman Foreverwas darker, more psychological, and more serious than the theatrical cut, and it is ready to be talked about and possibly shown, at least on Kevin Smith’s show to a select few.The flames ignited for the Schumacher cut when Marc Bernardin expressed that a 40-minutelonger version ofBatman Foreverexistsbut that Warner Bros. is apparently “unsure if there’s any hunger” for the director’s cut. According to Bernardin, theBatmanextended edition delved deeper into Bruce Wayne’s childhood psychosis and mental block. However, Warner Bros. was more interested in selling Happy Meals than exploring childhood trauma.RELATED:Joel Schumacher Wanted To Make His Version Of Christopher Nolan’s The Dark KnightOnFatman Beyond, Smith announced having the Schumacher cut and that he and his co-host will discuss it on their June 19th show. Smith humorously expresses that the director’s cut is longer, and, interestingly, the beginning scene ofBatman Foreverthat introduces Two-Face at the bank doesn’t happen for 15 minutes. “It’s a crazy good copy, too, man,” Smith says. He further stated that they might even show a clip, but only in the room on the day of their show. Smith has been seen interacting with theRTSchumacherCutaccount on Twitter since the reveal and amid the account’s campaign that uses the “Release The Schumacher Cut” hashtag, which is scheduled for June 16th.
Batman Foreverhas seen a recent resurgencethat separates it from Tim Burton as its unique take on the character. Thanks to Kevin Smith, fans may finally see their wishes fulfilled in the campaigns that suggest Warner Bros. Discovery release the Schumacher cut. However, this assumes that Smith’s announcement is leading to a worldwide release on behalf of WBD, or the studio could use this event to gauge audience reactions to determine whether the cut is worth releasing. Either way, this comes after WBD CEO David Zaslav axedBatgirl, for which Kevin Smith slammed the studio. “It’s an incredibly bad look to cancel the Latina ‘Batgirl’ movie,” Smith said. “I don’t give a shit if the movie was absolute fucking dog shit – I guarantee you that it wasn’t.” The cancelation ofBatgirlcasts a big shadow over the studio.
Likely, the release of the Schumacher cut is how the studio plans to rebuild its reputation. It could also be a way to release content during the writers' strike, which makes sense business-wise and is a good start to correct the wrongs of the studio’s past. Perhaps, after the potential release of the Schumacher cut, the studio could focus its efforts on releasingDavid Ayer’sSuicide Squadnext. Given the event’s potential weight on the Schumacher cut’s future, fans should continue the trending campaign on June 19th during Smith’s show. The true cut ofBatman Forevermay be within reach.
Batman Foreveris available on Max.
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