Kevin Smith Owns Batman Forever: The Schumacher Cut - And Teased A New Opening
There's a director's cut of "Batman Forever" and Kevin Smith owns it. Back in July 2020, only a few short weeks after Joel Schumacher passed away, Smith and Marc Bernardin discussed the existence of a darker, longer version of the filmmaker's 1995 superhero film – "The Schumacher Cut," they called it – on their podcast, "Fat Man Beyond." Now, less than three years later, Smith confirmed that he owns a copy of that version of "Batman Forever" and that he's watched it.
"I probably shouldn't be talking about this. Warner Brothers is going to take my ticket away," said Smith. "I've watched it, it's longer. You know how the movie starts with ... Two-Face busting into the bank and s*** like that? That [doesn't] happen for, like, 15 minutes in the original cut."
Smith has expressed interest in reviewing the Schumacher cut with Bernardin on the upcoming June 19 episode of "Fat Man Beyond." Smith also mentioned that he might show a clip of the Schumacher cut for those who attend the live recording of the episode at the Scum and Villainy Cantina in Los Angeles.
The Schumacher Cut impressed Kevin Smith
Kevin Smith was intentionally light on the details when he described the differences between the theatrical cut of "Batman Forever" and the Schumacher cut but he did drop a few clues as to what fans might be able to expect, should it ever be available for viewing. Smith's first notable statement confirms that the director's version is much longer. This aligns with Variety's research back in 2020, which led to the discovery of the Schumacher cut being 170 minutes long – a whopping 48 minutes longer than the officially released cut.
Smith also teased that the Schumacher cut features an entirely new opening sequence that's approximately 15 minutes long. He did not, however, elaborate as to what comprised those 15 minutes at the top of "Batman Forever." Most interestingly, Smith praised the Schumacher cut for being a "crazy good copy," with a "temp score and everything." Without more information, it's impossible to say but it sounds as though Schumacher essentially had a completed film on his hands before Warner Bros. chopped it down to a more digestible, theatrically appealing version.
For now, the only option is to wait and see if Smith follows through on his word and dives deeper into "Batman Forever: The Schumacher Cut" on the next episode of "Fat Man Beyond" which, hilariously, will also be used to review "The Flash," a DC film that technically decanonizes "Batman Forever."