Kevin Smith Teases Schumacher Cut of Batman Forever
DC movies have more alternate cuts than Blade Runner (well, maybe). On his Fat Man Beyond podcast – formerly Fat Man on Batman, which was a much better title, although apparently, they had to change it for legal reasons – Kevin Smith told his co-host, Marc Bernardin, that he has a copy of the “Schumacher Cut” of Batman Forever, Joel Schumacher’s first Batman film from 1995. According to Smith, the Schumacher Cut is longer, and the copy he procured is “a crazy good copy” with a temp score. He also announced that he and Bernardin will talk about it on an upcoming episode of Fat Man Beyond after Bernardin has seen it, and they may even screen the film for their fans in attendance.
Did @ThatKevinSmith got a copy of the Schumacher Cut of #BatmanForever?! And he’s going to talk about it on June 19th?! Better tune in, everyone! #ReleaseTheSchumacherCut pic.twitter.com/EdpUSsY2pS
— RTSchumacherCut 💚 (@CutSchumacher) June 9, 2023
This must be particularly satisfying for Bernardin, who kicked off speculation about the Schumacher Cut in 2020, shortly after the director’s death:
I wonder if the Schumacher Cut of Batman Forever is anything like the film’s novelization. When I was a kid, I was all about movie novelizations. (How much is “all about?” I read the novelization of Eraser.) Among those I read were the ones for all the Burton and Schumacher Batman films, and the latter two were much better than the movies, more complex and interesting, much more serious, and emotionally satisfying. Batman Forever, in particular – written by Peter David – got into Bruce Wayne’s mental state after being Batman for so long, and it had a series of prologues that helped set up Batman’s friendship with Harvey Dent and the origins of Edward Nygma’s madness. If the Schumacher Cut is anything like that – and Bernardin’s brief description suggests it is – I’d love to see it restored one day; I don’t like Batman Forever, but there are elements of a good movie buried under the farcical nonsense and ever-present neon lights. Joel Schumacher tragically passed away, so unfortunately, he won’t be part of the restoration, but some dedicated folks could pull it off well if they wanted to do it.
