#ReleaseTheSchumacherCut?
That's something the late filmmaker's fans have been talking a lot about in recent weeks, specifically in regards to Batman Forever. It all started when Star Trek: Picard writer Marc Bernardin Tweeted that he had heard of a 170-minute cut of the 1995 movie he was unsure Warner Bros. wanted to release.
Now, Variety has done some digging and confirmed that it does actually exist. This much longer cut featured a darker tone, and opened with a sequence of Tommy Lee Jones' Two-Face escaping from Arkham Asylum. There was also a series of extended scenes featuring The Riddler (Jim Carrey) as he invades the Batcave and uses his signature cane as a weapon.
Surprisingly, many of these extra scenes are said to focus on Bruce Wayne's emotional and psychological issues, and the trade notes that there was even a battle between Batman and giant, human-sized bat (Man-Bat, basically).
Before you start getting excited about seeing any of that, though, it's pointed out that, "representatives for the studio say there are no discussions about distributing a director’s cut of 'Batman Forever,' and are not aware if footage for an extended version has even survived 25 years later."
It's also important to note that even if this Batman Forever footage was recovered, it would need to undergo some serious upgrades, and Schumacher is no longer here to be involved. In any case, for many fans, the two-hour version of the movie is probably more than long enough...