It’s been 30 years since Joel Schumacher’s Batman Forever was released. But even before that anniversary, there were calls to ensure Bat-fans everywhere could see what had been dubbed “the Schumacher Cut”, which we didn’t truly know existed until the past couple of years. So what reignited interest in the Schumacher Cut? Unfortunately, it was the death of director Joel Schumacher. Now that the world has lost star Val Kilmer, new calls are being made to see that the Bat-Signal shines directly on the extended cut of Batman Forever.

Batman Forever went through numerous cuts to appease audiences (or try to…), so it’s almost expected that there would be a full-blown director’s cut. Thankfully, Kevin Smith did his part in seeing that people could finally see the Schumacher Cut, hosting a private screening in 2023 where viewers didn’t even know they were about to witness comic book movie history.