If you thought that the recent announcement of the Snyder Cut of Justice League finally becoming a reality and heading exclusively to HBO Max next year would signal the end of fan campaigns demanding Warner Bros. release an alternate version of one of their comic book movies, then you’d be dead wrong.
Almost as soon as the Snyder Cut was officially confirmed, fans immediately turned their attention to the Ayer Cut of Suicide Squad, and the filmmaker has been embracing the publicity by revealing a ton of plot and story details online along with plenty of never-before-seen images from the troubled shoot.
However, even a movie that’s a quarter of a century old is now finding itself subjected to a groundswell of online support, following the reveal that a 170-minute cut of Batman Forever exists. The third installment in the franchise marked the beginning of the end for the original series, with Joel Schumacher’s neon-and-nipples aesthetic a radical departure from the world Tim Burton had established, and just eight years after Michael Keaton had first suited up as the Dark Knight, George Clooney’s Batman & Robin had run the property into the ground.
With Schumacher having recently passed away at around the same time Warner Bros. confirmed that the extended edition of Batman Forever exists, fans have now gone online to try and see if #ReleaseTheSchumacherCut can find the same kind of success as their last endeavor, and you can check out some of their thoughts below.
It's not a film I'm personally passionate about, but the alternate cut is significantly different so it deserves to be seen. There are fans who want to see it and they should not be denied seeing his cut. I support artistic freedom for Directors. #ReleaseTheSchumacherCut
— ⭐Mister J ⭐ (@ColdBloodedJoke) July 28, 2020
Let’s get this done for Joel. #ReleaseTheSchumacherCut pic.twitter.com/MpJ4UbBztD
— Hello! I'm Peter. Where are you from? Originally. (@PeteIllustrated) July 28, 2020
Batman Forever is a criminally underrated film that would improve immensely with the #RedBook cut #ReleaseTheSchumacherCut @CutSchumacher pic.twitter.com/0PX2l6omXn
— Christian Vega (@darthmartau) July 28, 2020
I've waited for so long for this to happen. Finally, the mainstream audience discovered the red book edition of Batman Forever and it's legendary bat scene. The time has come, and it must be done, even though it must come after his unfortunate death. #ReleaseTheSchumacherCut pic.twitter.com/XNXGkxG3kF
— Ayrton Chitwood (@ayrton_chitwood) July 28, 2020
Let’s do it. #ReleaseTheSchumacherCut pic.twitter.com/7qWrOuWdPQ
— 🦇DarkKnt1047🦇 (@darkknt1047) July 28, 2020
As the tribute to Joel Schumacher please @ATT @hbomax @WarnerMedia #ReleaseTheSchumacherCut pic.twitter.com/lbd8zTltpr
— Aleksander Bibik #ReleaseTheSnyderCut (@BibikAleksander) July 28, 2020
The unlimited possibilities @hbomax brings to us in such unique situations. #ReleaseTheSchumacherCut honours the late Joel Schumacher by asking for his directors cut of Batman Forever to release.
HBO Max need content so why not drop the directors cut of #BatmanForever pic.twitter.com/G2tk7wNBjJ
— RTSchumacherCut 💚 (@CutSchumacher) July 27, 2020
https://twitter.com/Jamzarm/status/1287872237668728832?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1287872237668728832%7Ctwgr%5E&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fcomicbook.com%2Fmovies%2Fnews%2Fbatman-forever-release-the-schumacher-cut-hbo-max%2F
https://twitter.com/MrRed99009767/status/1287885556441993217?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1287885556441993217%7Ctwgr%5E&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fcomicbook.com%2Fmovies%2Fnews%2Fbatman-forever-release-the-schumacher-cut-hbo-max%2F
Even with the nipples, this is one of the best Robin suits in live action imo. Let's have more of this #ReleaseTheSchumacherCut pic.twitter.com/4WOzJ0jh24
— @EarthOneCarlos (@earthonecarlos) July 27, 2020
HBO Max is already loading up on DC-related content as one of their major selling points, and with the footage already at their disposal, there’s no reason why they shouldn’t decide to take the plunge and release an extended edition of Batman Forever. Sure, while re-editing so many of their comic book movies could end up being dismissed as a gimmick, getting a darker and more psychological take on the film could ultimately see Joel Schumacher’s involvement with the Caped Crusader being viewed in an entirely different light.