A Four Hour Cut of The Batman Was Shown to Early Test Screenings

Here we go again. After it was revealed Matt Reeves’ The Batman will be the longest Dark Knight movie ever, an even longer version of the upcoming superhero movie exists.

THR reports that early test screenings of The Batman clocked in at a whopping four hours long. While we learned last week that the version of The Batman most audiences will be seeing in theaters clocks in at nearly three hours, this implies there’s somewhere around an hour of footage left on the cutting room floor.

Even at just under three hours, it’s still the longest Batman movie ever made, outpacing Christopher Nolan’s trilogy, Tim Burton’s Batman and Batman Returns, and Joel Schumacher’s Batman Forever.

The news of a four-hour version inevitably brings to mind the infamous Zack Snyder cut of Justice League, which features a runtime of four hours and two minutes.

After years of fan outcry, DC and Warner Bros released Snyder’s cut of Justice League. Snyder originally departed production in 2017, with Warner Bros. giving the reins over to Joss Whedon. Whedon was later accused of creating a hostile working environment and threatening actors’ careers, including Wonder Woman’s Gal Gadot.

Of course, the movement to release the Snyder Cut was a mix of negative reception to Whedon’s cut of Justice League, Snyder’s fan following as a director, and the perception that Warner Bros. was hiding an alternate cut of the film.

But Snyder’s circumstances were unique. Directors often create multiple cuts of a film to test, and that doesn’t necessarily mean a longer cut is a “director’s cut.” While the process of test screenings is complicated, it’s intended to find a version of the film audiences like best.

We also know The Batman will have some horror elements akin to the infamous Zodiac Killer. You can also check out the new Batman theme by composer Michael Giacchino, which reminds us of the animated series and Danny Elfman’s classic Batman score.

Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer for IGN.