It’s not uncommon for studios to demand re-shoots before the release of movies or tv shows, with creative teams then having to edit them to within an inch of their lives before they finally air. Late in the game re-shoots have happened to tons of projects, from House of the Dragon to Independence Day to Back To The Future. Usually, it works out for the best; sometimes it doesn’t, but it’s rare that it results in a movie being nearly scrapped only to be heavily edited and then re-released years later. That’s exactly what happened to this controversial DC project, though.
Batman Beyond: Return Of The Joker was originally set for a Halloween release all the way back in 2000. However, backlash against violence in children’s media came in heavily after the Columbine High School massacre in 1999, and apprehension from executives at Warner Bros over the film’s content ultimately resulted in the creative team being required to edit the film so heavily that it was delayed until December of 2000. Two years and a massive amount of petitions later, the uncut version of Batman Beyond: Return Of The Joker was finally released.
What We Got Was Almost Unrecognizable From The Original
Nearly two years after the film’s initial release came a multitude of online petitions and outcry for the original version to be released. Warner Home Video took its time, but eventually acquiesced and dropped the uncut and unrated version of Return of the Joker that included more violence and some altered language, as well as the Joker’s original death scene, which was widely considered to be the most drastic change between the original and edited version. In the PG-13 “theatrical” version, which was also the first animated Batman project to earn a PG-13 rating, the villain is shot by Tim Drake, becoming impaled by the flag that explodes from his gun. However, in the unrated television version of the film, he is more graphically electrocuted after becoming tangled in water tubing.
In the time since the release of both films, entire websites dedicated to the differences between the edited and original versions of the film have popped up, combing through both movies scene by scene to compare the two. The edits ultimately range from overzealous to completely unnecessary, leaving many in the audience questioning why they were even changed in the first place.
What are your thoughts on the edits to the original Batman Beyond: Return Of The Joker? Let us know below in the comments, and don’t forget to check out what other fans are saying over at the ComicBook forums.