Here’s What ‘Batman vs. Superman’ Would’ve Looked Like If It Came Out in 1995

Batman vs. Superman is one of the biggest movies of the year. But, what if the biggest movie of the year actually came out in 1995? Here’s a trailer that answers that question, showing us what a retro Batman vs. Superman would’ve looked like alongside other 1995 box-office champs like Jumanji, Waterworld and Apollo 13.

Let’s just imagine traveling back to 1995 when Blockbuster Video was still a thing and renting a VHS copy of the latest movie and included on that tape was this trailer we had our pal Sleepy Skunk put together for Batman vs. Superman. It’s got all the hallmarks of a retro movie trailer: the “In a world…” voiceover, the soundtrack listing and the pan and scan format.

In reality, by 1995 the Batman franchise was winding down at Warner Bros. Tim Burton left the series after a tepid reception to Batman Returns, as he recalls in the Shadows of the Bat documentary:

I remember toying with the idea of doing another one. And I remember going into Warner Bros. and having a meeting. And I’m going, ‘I could do this or we could do that.’ And they go like, ‘Tim, don’t you want to do a smaller movie now? Just something that’s more [you]?’ About half an hour into the meeting, I go, ‘You don’t want me to make another one, do you?’

Burton was replaced by Joel Schumacher who would make the forgettable Batman Forever with Val Kilmer and the infamous Batman & Robin with George Clooney. But in an alternate universe, we’d have gotten this Batman vs. Superman movie in 1995 and the DC Cinematic Universe would’ve gotten the jumpstart on Marvel.