Following on from his comments about the replacement of Robin Williams with Jim Carrey as The Riddler, “Batman Forever” writer Akiva Goldsman has spoken some more about the Joel Schumacher-directed film which opened nearly thirty years ago.
Goldsman has been out promoting his Apple TV+ series “The Crowded Room” starring Tom Holland which suffered from some of the worst reviews seen for a prestige TV series in recent years, and a rare misfire for Apple with critics (audience scores have been more forgiving).
During his chat with The Playlist’s Bingeworthy podcast, he touched upon one element of “Batman Forever” that has come up a lot in recent years – the long rumored ‘Schumacher Cut’ of the film which was said to be darker and put a lot more focus on Val Kilmer’s Bruce Wayne/Batman psychological state.
Glimpses of excised footage can be seen in the trailers and some of those scenes have ended up online over the years, including a fan-made ‘Red Book Edition’, but that’s a long way from a full alternate cut ready for commercial release. However, Goldsman confirms such a cut does exist (likely in workprint form, so some unfinished FX & score), but it doesn’t mean it will be released:
“I saw [The ‘Schumacher Cut’] recently, and it’s funny because there’s been a swell on the internet for it, and I stay out of it, mostly. Although, it’s got about 35% more psychological realism in it. You know, it’s really more about guilt and shame. But the preview audience didn’t want it – the world wasn’t ready. Joel’s first cut had all of it in, and the audience was like, ‘Yeah, we just like the part where the guy’s funny and he’s scary and the big thing…’ And so, it got cut down into what it is. And it was cool.”
Goldsman adds he would like to see it happen, at some point, if nothing else as a tribute to the late Schumacher:
“No, no – this was two administrations ago or one-and-a-half… It exists, you know. And I’m certainly an advocate for it being in the world – just for Joel, you know? Because he died and he died quietly…You know, there wasn’t a lot of honoring him and it would be a nice way to honor him, I think. And I think he’d get a kick out of it.”
The most notable cut scenes that are out there include a sequence involving Tommy Lee Jones’ Two-Face escaping from Arkham Asylum at the start, an extended version of Riddler’s attack on the Batcave, and a subplot involving a red diary of the Wayne family, which sees Kilmer and Kidman’s characters interacting more and Bruce delving more into his psyche – including a dream sequence involving a massive bat.
