As hard as it might be to believe, Batman Forever is turning 30 years old this year. The Joel Schumacher movie was the epitome of '90s modernity at the time of its release, going bigger than ever before with lavish visuals, over-the-top costumes and styling, and some very outlandish storytelling (though nowhere near as outlandish as its 1997 sequel Batman and Robin).
It ended up being exactly what Warner Bros. was looking for at the time, telling a relatively serious Batman story against a very unserious, marketable world with colorful villains and a lot of one-liners. But even with all of the film's success, there were clearly two very different films within that project, and one was seemingly crying out to be seen - one that Joel Schumacher himself wanted audiences to see.
That wish might finally come true, as the Schumacher Cut of Batman Forever is finally being screened for the public.
The Schumacher Cut of Batman Forever is getting a theater screening
Rejoice Bat-fans! The long-awaited Joel Schumacher cut of Batman Forever is finally getting a public screening in a theater in Los Angeles on May 29. According to the cinema's official listing, it can only be viewed by monthly members and extremely limited seating is already being reported.
Now, this doesn't automatically confirm that the Schumacher Cut will be getting that long-awaited home media release, but there is reason to believe that it might be on the horizon. For starters, Batman Forever celebrates its 30th anniversary next month, so it goes without saying that Warner Bros. should mark the occasion by releasing a special edition of the film before the end of the year. Moreover, while the quest to get the Schumacher Cut released has been ongoing since the death of Joel Schumacher back in 2020, the campaign has ramped up once again due to the recent death of the film's star Val Kilmer, who sadly passed away at 65 years old earlier this year.
As reported by World of Reel, the Schumacher Cut of Batman Forever would require around $5 - $10 million of post-production in order to be releasable to the general public, but the renewed interest in the movie due to both the anniversary and Kilmer's passing might spur Warner Bros. to release it as a tribute. Given how fans have been longing to see it, it's certainly something they should consider.
Screenwriter Akiva Goldsman has seen a cut of Schumacher's vision and he recently spoke of the work that would need done to it, adding that most of it is special effects that would need generated and scenes that would need rescored. So it sounds achievable, especially as he estimated that it would only cost around $1 million to make it happen. Kevin Smith has also seen the director's cut and he revealed that it has a runtime of 2 hours and 38 minutes, during which it spends more time showcasing Bruce Wayne's psychological trauma, as well as exploring the meaning behind the Batman Forever title far better than the theatrical cut does.
Released in the summer of 1995, Batman Forever was the third film in Warner Bros. Batman franchise at the time. It came after Tim Burton's Batman (1989) and Batman Returns (1992), both of which were extremely well-regarded among critics and fans. But the studio's desire for a more family-friendly tone after Returns' notorious darkness resulted in a brighter, sillier, more over-the-top spectacle that divided people. Even so, Forever was a box office success and ensured the future of the franchise (until its sequel Batman and Robin put the film series on ice in 1997).
The idea of the Schumacher Cut has long been whispered on internet forums and briefly spoken about by Schumacher himself, but it has only recently found its way into bigger conversations due to a different DC movie that found itself in a similar position. After the theatrical cut of 2017's infamous Justice League was revealed to be so far removed from original director Zack Snyder's vision, fans campaigned for years to get the Snyder Cut released. Warner Bros. finally made it happen in 2021, releasing Zack Snyder's Justice League on the HBO Max streaming service.
We don't yet know if Joel Schumacher's Batman Forever will find itself on streaming platforms, DVD and Blu-ray just yet, but a public screening in Los Angeles is certainly a step in the right direction. With the film's 30th anniversary upon us, now is the right time to make it happen.