Kevin Smith has seen the “Schumacher Cut” of Batman Forever and shared some amazing insight into the version of Joel Schumacher’s Batman Forever that never made it into theaters. As Batman Forever nears its 30th anniversary, campaigns for the director's cut of the film to be released have never been more popular. While it was unclear whether there was an actual director’s cut of Batman Forever, Kevin Smith has now absolutely confirmed that there is at least one different version of the 1995 Batman movie that most people have never seen.

Thanks to Batman Forever stills, interviewers from writers, and other bits of information, it is widely known that Batman Forever could have been a very different film. While Joel Schumacher was hired to make the next Batman movie less dark than Batman Returns, the filmmaker wanted to tell a character-driven story about Bruce Wayne’s trauma. During the the Schumacher Cut of Batman Forever.

15 Batman Forever’s Schumacher Cut Is “Utterly Watchable”

According to Kevin Smith, the Schumacher Cut of Batman Forever is “utterly watchable,” even more so for those who have already seen the theatrical cut. Smith is under the impression that the Batman Forever cut he saw was the one screened for executives before the movie was edited down to a more “commercial” length. Smith does not believe in a bigger conspiracy regarding why the original Batman Forever cut was changed that much. Instead, he believes executives were trying to create a lighter, more kid-friendly Batman Forever out of the first cut that was put together.

14 The Schumacher Cut Of Batman Forever Is About 2 Hours And 30 Minutes Long

Batman Forever’s Schumacher Cut is not a Snyder Cut scenario in which Zack Snyder’s Justice League movie was four hours long. Instead, the Batman Forever cut Kevin Smith watched was about 2 hours and 30 minutes long. To put numbers in perspective, the theatrical cut of Batman Forever was 2 hours and 2 minutes long. As such, there is a considerable amount of extra content in the Schumacher Cut of Batman Forever, but not a drastic amount like in the Justice League situation. This adds to the idea that the original Batman Forever cut was trimmed down for a more commercial version.

13 The Schumacher Cut Uses Danny Elfman’s Batman Score As Temp Track

Batman Forever’s score was composed by Elliot Goldenthal. However, the score is usually one of the final things added to a movie. Therefore, during the editing process of any film, filmmakers usually use temporary tracks that are not meant to be in the final product. According to Kevin Smith, Batman Forever’s Schumacher Cut only has some of the Elliot Goldenthal themes and is mostly edited to Danny Elfman’s Batman score as a temp track. Should Batman Forever’s Schumacher Cut ever be released to the public, it is difficult to say whether the temp track would be replaced by Goldenthal’s Batman Forever score.

12 Val Kilmer Doesn’t Suit Up As Batman Until 15 Minutes Into The Movie

The theatrical cut of Batman Forever opens with Val Kilmer’s Batman ing a major action scene involving Tommy Lee Jones’s Two-Face. However, the Schumacher Cut would have started quite differently. Some scenes that only happen after the Batman vs. Two-Face sequence in the theatrical cut happen beforehand in the Schumacher Cut. The film would have taken its time before putting Batman on-screen, featuring scenes involving Bruce Wayne, Edward Nygma, and Harvey Dent before the first major action piece. The decision of opening Batman Forever’s theatrical cut with Batman fighting Two-Face already surely aimed to make the film more fast-paced and lighter in tone.

11 Batman Forever’s Schumacher Cut Opens With Two-Face Escaping Arkham

The theatrical cut of Batman Forever simply tells audiences that Two-Face has escaped Arkham, leading right into the big action sequence in which Batman fights the villain and his minions. According to Kevin Smith, Batman Forever’s Schumacher Cut actually covers Harvey Dent’s escape from Arkham. While the film does not show Two-Face escaping, it does show the police looking for him at Arkham Asylum, only to find out that the guards had been killed. Before escaping through the rooftop, Two-Face left a message, presumably in blood, saying that “The Bat must die.” This moment highlights how much darker the Schumacher Cut could have been compared to Batman Forever’s final cut.

10 Batman Forever’s Schumacher Cut Shows More Of Two-Face’s Backstory

The Schumacher Cut also improves Two-Face in the sense that it shows a bit more of Harvey Dent's backstory. In Batman Forever, audiences only see bits of pre-Two-Face Harvey Dent through footage on TV screens. According to Kevin Smith, the Schumacher Cut shows the extended scene of a criminal throwing acid at Harvey Dent’s face, which leads to him becoming Two-Face. The scene would have started with Bruce Wayne watching the TV coverage of Two-Face's story at his office.

9 Bruce Wayne Visiting Wayne Enterprises Happens Earlier In The Schumacher Cut

Batman Forever’s first act seems to be a reworked version of the original cut, changing the placement of the scenes. For example, Bruce Wayne vising Wayne Enterprises happens much earlier in the Schumacher Cut compared to the theatrical cut of Batman Forever. In the Schumacher Cut, Val Kilmer’s Bruce Wane goes to Wayne Enterprises and talks to Jim Carrey’s Edward Nygma before Batman fights Two-Face. Therefore, audiences’ first introduction to Kilmer in the Schumacher Cut is with Bruce Wayne, not Batman.

8 Jon Favreau Appears (And Has Lines) In The Schumacher Cut Of Batman Forever

Jon Favreau, who would go on to change the superhero movie game with Iron Man in 2008, briefly appears in Batman Forever as an extra. However, in the Schumacher Cut, Favreau actually has a couple of lines. According to Kevin Smith, Favreau’s character was some sort of financial consultant who briefed Bruce Wayne on Wayne Enterprises’ stocks when Bruce was visiting Wayne Enterprises.

7 Jim Carrey’s Edward Nygma Has A Scene Before Meeting Bruce Wayne

Jim Carrey’s first scene in Batman Forever sees Edward Nygma pitching his project to Bruce Wayne. In the Schumacher Cut, Jim Carrey has an extra scene before Edward Nygma meets Bruce Wayne. The scene sees Nygma working on his “TV machine,” the one would he would pitch to Bruce Wayne and later use as a weapon after becoming the Riddler.

6 The Schumacher Cut Reveals A Lot Of Batman Forever Lines Were Looped

Kevin Smith’s podcast on the Schumacher Cut reveals that a lot of the Batman Forever lines were looped in post-production. In other words, a lot of Batman Forever lines were recorded after the film was shot and edited into the final product. This appears to have been common for Tommy Lee Jones’s Two-Face and Jim Carrey’s Riddler. Kevin Smith and Joe Black described the villains’ performances in the Schumacher Cut as much less over-the-top than in the theatrical cut, especially Tommy Lee Jones as Two-Face. It appears that the studio wanted the Batman Forever villains to be a bit campier.