Batman Forever is definitely a movie with Batman in it. The film was a hard right turn from its Tim Burton predecessors as it went full comic book, ditching the gothic nature and swinging almost into Adam West levels of ridiculousness. However, it evidently wasn’t the original vision of director Joel Schumacher, as an extended cut of Batman Forever was revealed to exist back in 2020, and now Kevin Smith says he has a copy of it and will review it.
Smith revealed the news on his Fat Man Beyond (via IGN) podcast, saying, “I probably shouldn’t be talking about this. Warner Bros going to take my ticket away, but I’m gonna slip you a f***ing copy,” to his co-host Marc Bernardin. It’s not clear how he got this mythical object or what format it is even in, but Smith wants to watch it with Bernadin and then do a review on an upcoming podcast. He has, in fact, already watched it, stating only that “it’s longer.”
That is a bit of an understatement. The Batman Forever Schumacher cut is reportedly 170 minutes long, featuring a whole slew of cut scenes and a darker tone overall (though how dark can you get with Bat-nipples on the costume?). The film apparently has a 15-minute opening that takes place before the opening of the theatrical release even starts, extended action when the Riddler invades the Batcave, an escape by Two-Face from Arkham Asylum, and even a giant dream bat… thing. Those aren’t the biggest additions, however, as the extra time is said to drastically expand the story of Bruce Wayne turning into Batman and the psychological reasons behind it, a tact that would feel decidedly out of place in the campier theatrical cut. Clearly, the camp won out here and even more so as Schumacher fully committed to having no emotional storyline at all in his next and final Batman film, Batman & Robin.
With Smith now confirming that this cut of the film does actually exist, we’re left asking if we’ll ever get to see it. Currently, WB has no plans to release the movie and in fact worries it will hurt Batman’s brand, but considering it released Justice League, that seems a bit hypocritical.