According to Variety, the Joel Schumacher Cut of “Batman Forever” does in fact exist. The 170-minute version is said to be “darker” than the original, which was plagued with ‘90s superhero movie campiness. We were almost all disappointed by that film, especially since it was marketed as a follow-up to the darker, more gothic-looking Tim Burton films.
However, let’s not get too ahead of ourselves here, the chances of this new version getting released are fairly low, especially since it isn’t being backed by a movement as loudly defiant as Zack Snyder and his fans’ campaign to get his version of “Justice League” released. The real question we should be asking is who actually wants a new version of “Batman Forever”?
Considering the tragic passing of Schumacher last week, this nearly 3-hour version of “Batman Forever has been discussed at arm’s length in some movie circles the past week. The footage that was cut together by Schumacher seems to have been in the studio’s vaults for more than two decades. The darker tone hinted at stems from added scenes dealing with Bruce Wayne’s mental illness and the traumatic psyche in having witnessed the murder of his parents at a very young age.
Has it all been preserved for an eventual 35th-anniversary edition?