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Batman Forever fans want to release the Schumacher cut

Fans of the pre-DCEU movie Batman Forever are organising an online event to drum up buzz for the Schumacher cut, a different edit of the action movie

Val Kilmer in Batman Forever

Fans of pre-DCEU movie Batman Forever have some demands, and they’re about to make them known. A trending event to release the Schumacher cut of the action movie is due to take place on Twitter June 16, with a watchalong to generate buzz.

Various Twitter accounts are posting edits and images in anticipation of the gathering, with the hope being that Warner Bros will greenlight a new version of Batman Forever based pre-theatrical cuts. Director Joel Schumacher actually made the Batman movie considerably darker than what came out, and in a post-Zack Snyder’s Justice League world, some would like to see that other cut.

We actually know Schumacher’s working edit exists, per Akiva Goldsman, who wrote the adventure movie. “I really am interested to see whether or not the original cut of Batman Forever comes out,” he told the Austin Film Festival in 2021. “I got to see it recently, the very first one, which was referred to as Preview Cut One. And it was really dark, it was a pretty psychological exploration of guilt and shame.”

Deleted scenes have circulated the internet for years. A famous one involves Batman actor Val Kilmer having an encounter with a giant bat. Said creature only appears in a brief scene in the theatrical cut.

Effects legend Rick Baker literally built that huge bat, and it seems like a bit of a waste if the thing only gets seconds overall. Released in 1995, Batman Forever features Kilmer as the dark knight, with Jim Carrey and Tommy Lee Jones as his villains, The Riddle and Two-Face, respectively.

The picture is distinctly campier than Tim Burton’s previous two, and had the tough job of following the gothic masterpiece, Batman Returns. That said, it obviously has its true believers, who’re keen to see more of what Schumacher was going for.

Much like Zack Snyder’s Justice League, a different edit of Batman Forever probably won’t convince anyone who wasn’t already a fan. But if it’s just sitting the archives, then what harm? We’ll keep you posted.