Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight is aiming to be the ultimate celebration of the Dark Knight’s lasting impact on pop culture, referencing everything from the classic movies to enduring memes from actor Michael Caine. Ahead of its release later this month, a new trailer for the game has gone live and has done what few pieces of Batman media have been brave enough to do–acknowledge the existence of the 1995 film Batman Forever and one of its official tie-in songs, Seal’s Kiss from a Rose.
Set against the backdrop of the song–that won Seal the 1996 Song of the Year at the Grammys–the trailer shows off more of Bruce Wayne’s journey and how he transforms into Gotham’s legendary vigilante, Batman. The video also features several more characters, including Batman’s allies Robin, Nightwing, Batgirl, Jim Gordon, Catwoman, and Talia al Ghul as they take on foes like The Joker, Poison Ivy, Mr. Freeze, Two-Face, Ra’s al Ghul, and Bane–and yes, that is Matt Berry voicing the infamous Venom-abusing supervillain.
Kiss from a Rose was one of several licensed tracks heard in Batman Forever, alongside other selections from the likes of U2, Massive Attack, and The Offspring. Those songs and more appeared on the Batman Forever: Music from the Motion Picture soundtrack CD, a collection of tracks more ’90s than owning a Tamagotchi. As for Batman Forever, the movie did receive mixed reviews during its run at cinemas, but its combination of a new Batman under the cape and cowl–played by the late Val Kilmer–the introduction of Robin, and Jim Carrey hamming it up as the Riddler saw it make a handsome profit at the box office.
A Director’s Cut of the movie also exists and is reportedly much darker than director Joel Schumacher’s theatrical version. One of the writers of the Batman Forever screenplay, Akiva Goldsman, has confirmed the existence of the Schumacher Cut, and that he’s still lobbying Warner Bros. to eventually release it.
While Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight pays tribute to numerous Batman movies and TV series, the game is also a spiritual successor to Rocksteady’s Arkham series of games. “After spending a couple hours with it, I’ve got high hopes that it actually could be the Batman game we’ve been waiting a decade for–or at least the closest thing a Lego game can deliver,” Phil Owen wrote after going hands-on with it.