A never-before-seen photograph from Joel Schumacher's Batman Forever has surfaced online and features Tommy Lee Jones' Two-Face locked in Arkham Asylum.
Posting on Instagram, Nygmatech Archives shared the still of Jones in character as the unhinged Two-Face. The caption confirmed it is from a deleted scene featuring an incarcerated Dent prior to his escape. While Batman Forever opened with a high-octane bank heist, the original plan was to show Dent breaking free from his cell. The scene was cut and Two-Face was instead shown tormenting the streets of Gotham. The 1995 movie has celebrated its 25th anniversary, and with it, fans can get a look at Dent before he broke free from Arkham.
Arkham Asylum briefly appeared at the end of the movie where it was shown to house Two-Face and the Riddler. Beyond that scene there was no reference to Dent's time behind bars. Although there was a flashback that revealed Dent's days as District Attorney and how Sal Maroni gave Two-Face his signature look with a glass of acid. The remainder of his backstory was left up to interpretation.
Following the success of Tim Burton's Batman and Batman Returns, the director originally planned to return for a third movie. Batman Forever starred Val Kilmer, Chris O'Donnell and Nicole Kidman, with a plot that featured Jim Carrey and Jones in villainous roles as the Riddler and Two-Face, respectively. The tentatively titled Batman Continues was going to bring back Micahel Keaton as Bruce Wayne, star Rene Russo as Dr. Chase Meridian and see Billy Dee Williams take on the role of Harvey Dent. Warner Bros. reportedly wanted to tone down the darkness and Burton left the project - soon to be followed by Keaton. Russo was replaced by Kidman and Jones took over from Williams.
Carrey and Jones had a famously fractious relationship, with the latter vowing never to work with Carrey again. Despite being a commercial success, Batman Forever received average to poor reviews. Still, the studio went ahead with another movie and Batman & Robin was released in 1997. Ironically, there was an Easter egg of Dent's trip to Arkham in Batman & Robin when Schumacher's sequel provided a glimpse of the criminal property locker and Two-Face's iconic costume. Batman Forever's original opening with Two-Face having already escaped is available online and also includes a nod to the Burton-era with Akrham's chief psychiatrist being called Dr. Burton.