Select audiences watched the late Joel Schumacher's true vision of Batman Forever, and the fans took to social media with exciting reactions that separate the Schumacher cut from the campy theatrical version.Smith's Batman Forever Schumacher cut announcement fueled the flames of fans fighting for this alternate version of Batman Forever since it was announced that a more mature cut of the film existed. Smith has not only reviewed the alternate cut since but has now shown it to select fans in a private screening. The reactions to the Schumacher cut further support what has been said about it, but not without a few caveats that would require Warner Bros. Discovery to invest some money into touching up the Batman movie for a worldwide release. The Schumacher cut screening took place on July 1st at Smodcastle Cinema with positive reception. Bruce Wayne's arc is noted as the biggest improvement. It is said to be slower-paced and allows the film to breathe in between the upbeat moments in ways that expand on the dual identity and psychological complexities of its themes that were only touched upon in the theatrical cut. This cut is also said to be 2 hours and 15 minutes long, instead of the previously reported Batman Forever Schumacher cut runtime.
In its current state, the Schumacher cut is a work print that would require additional VFX and a return to the original score, but even so, it would require far less than Zack Snyder's Justice League. As a result, the current condition of the Schumacher cut seems more comparable to the David Ayer cut of Suicide Squad, which has also not seen a release despite years of campaigning from fans, the cast, the crew, and Ayer himself. It is unfortunate, but a company like WBD, who a portion of the DC fan base would argue has shown to do the opposite of what fans expect from the brand, is in debt of around $49 billion, has seen financial losses in its latest DC films, and has even canceled Batgirl for a tax write-off, may not consider the investment of releasing alternate cuts of their previous DC films a priority.
Even so, there may be other platforms that could and would invest the time and resources in these alternate cuts, especially amid the writers' strike and WBD's business strategy to lease DC IP to third party streaming services. Whether the current regime at WBD or new management that may come later, it seems like an easy decision for these in-demand alternate cuts to eventually be released, as long as fans continue to show demand. Regarding the Schumacher cut, there is one final screening set for August 25th at Smith’s cinema, which fans can expect more reactions from that will undoubtedly continue the demand to see its release.
Batman Forever is available on MAX.
Source: Epic Film Guys, David Gonzalez, VillainousComix