First Reactions and Runtime Revealed for Joel Schumacher's Cut of BATMAN FOREVER

Fans have been discussing their desire to see the director’s cut of Joel Schumacher’s Batman Forever. Now it’s finally happening, and the film’s runtime has been revealed, as well as some first reactions. The film we saw in theaters (or on DVD or streaming if you’re too young for all that) had a runtime of 121 minutes. This new cut clocks in at 158 minutes, boasting 37 new minutes of content.

According to a report from World of Reel (via comingsoon), Kevin Smith — who was one of the original people to speak about the extended Batman Forever cut — screened the extended Joel Schumacher Batman Forever cut to a handful of friends and fans at a private screening at the beginning of the month at Smodcastle Cinema in New Jersey.

The report says this cut of the film is “slower-paced” and that while it would still need touchups in places like the score and visual effects, the film is allowed to “breathe” in a way that the original did not.

Various people took to Twitter shortly after seeing the project, with one noting that the film presented “a deeper, psychologically-complex character arc” for Val Kilmer’s Bruce Wayne/Batman. Another user confirmed that it was the “superior cut” of the film.

Earlier this year, journalist, writer, and podcaster Marc Bernardin stirred up hope in fans of the film when he said that he had it on “very good authority” that a 170-minute version of the late Schumacher’s film existed, but that Warner Bros. Discovery didn’t know if there was “any hunger” for it to release.

Smith then stepped in and announced in June on his Fatman Beyond podcast (which is co-hosted by Bernardin) that he actually had the film on hand. Smith described the project as longer, and very good.

Does this get you more excited to check out the film yourself? Let us know below.