Former Batman Val Kilmer Jokes About Putting on the Batsuit Again for DC Fandome

Last week, DC revealed the impressive list of talent participating in the upcoming DC FanDome event set to bring the world of DC Comics, movies, and television to fans on August 22nd and included on that extensive list was Batman Forever star Val Kilmer. Much to the delight of fans, the former Batman actor is set to be part of the event but as for how DC convinced Kilmer to participate the actor teases it had something to do with suiting up as the Dark Knight once again.

On Instagram, Kilmer confirmed that he is indeed going to be part of DC FanDome and joked that he asked if being part of the event meant “putting on the ol’ bat suit”.

“Well, the news is out. Friends at Warner Bros. asked if I’d like to be a part of DC FanDome and I asked if it meant putting on the ol’ bat suit,” Kilmer wrote. “They said it’s optional. Hmmm.”

Kilmer played Bruce Wayne/Batman in 1995’s Batman Forever. Directed by Joel Schumacher, the film was the third in the series kicked off with the Michael Keaton-starring Batman in 1989 and, with its somewhat campy tone stood in contrast to the darker films that were Batman and 1992’s Batman Returns.

For fans of the film, Kilmer’s confirmed appearance for DC FanDome has sparked new hope that a so-called “Schumacher Cut” of the film could see release. With the success of the fan-driven campaign to see the so-called Snyder-Cut of Justice League released — Zack Snyder’s cut of the film is headed to HBO Max sometime in 2021 — Batman Forever fans are hoping the same can happen for the longer and reportedly very different version of Schumacher’s Batman Forever. That version of the film, Fatman Beyond podcast co-host Mark Bernardin recently explained, was a darker film more in line with Tim Burton’s Batman and Batman Returns, but the studio didn’t think it would work for kids.

“I have it on pretty good authority that there exists in the Warner Bros. vault a 170-minute cut of Batman Forever,” Bernardin told his co-host Kevin Smith. “I think that it went much deeper into his childhood psychosis and his mental blocks and that it was a more serious, darker version of that movie that was one of the first assemblies that Joel filed with the studio and they eventually cut it down because they were like ‘it’s too dark for kids. We gotta sell these Happy Meals, so maybe let’s not invest ourselves in the trauma of childhood murder. We’ve got Jim Carrey, let him do some s–t.”

The hope for a Schumacher cut of Batman Forever aside, fans are just excited to see Kilmer, who underwent a tracheotomy as part of his overall treatment for throat cancer. The actor recently offered an update on his health while promoting the film Paydirt which also stars his daughter Mercedes Kilmer.

“I feel great, and my health is excellent,” Kilmer said.

DC FanDome takes place online on Saturday, August 22nd.

Would you want to see Val Kilmer suit up in the Batsuit again? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.