Zack Snyder’s Justice League may have been the subject of a sustained three and a half year groundswell of fan support, but the recently released HBO Max exclusive has nothing on the Schumacher Cut of Batman Forever, which has been locked away in the Warner Bros. vault for over a quarter of a century at this point.
The studio confirmed last year that a 170-minute edition of the 1995 blockbuster does indeed exist, which was revealed around the same time that Schumacher passed away at the age of 80. Needless to say, fans were quick to hop onto social media to urge WB to give them the extended edition of the film as a way to honor the director’s legacy, even if his pair of Batman efforts aren’t exactly held in the highest esteem amongst viewers.
The #ReleaseTheSchumacherCut crowd also roped in Ice Cube of all people to voice his hilariously unenthusiastic support and ask the studio to give the people what they want, and in a new interview, Batman Forever producer Akiva Goldsman teased that something could be in the works in regards to the unseen version of the DC Comics adaptation, which would run 50 minutes longer than the theatrical edition.
“And by the way, Batman Forever still has a renaissance coming, I really am interested to see whether the original cut of Batman Forever comes out. Because 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.”
Warner Bros. may have publicly dismissed the notion of Suicide Squad‘s Ayer Cut becoming a reality, but the boardroom have remained silent on the possibility of the Schumacher Cut. And while it remains to be seen what’ll happen, Zack Snyder’s Justice League certainly generated its fair share of buzz and headlines, so there’s no reason why a markedly different spin on Batman Forever wouldn’t have the same sort of effect, especially if it were to be brought to life as another high profile HBO Max exclusive.
