10 Things You Didn’t Know About The Batman
Batman movies will never stop being made and the reason for that is because they’re awesome. Even the ones that aren’t that great (looking at you Clooney) are still pretty entertaining for the folks who are into that world. 2022 brought a new vision of the character and it’s still pretty similar to the old versions in comic form. That’s a big positive in the books of many a fan and It’s great that we get to see a slightly different angle on the same badass character is so beloved all over the world.
I spent a bit of time in the old ChadCave watching special features of the film and have come up with this list of 10 Things You Didn’t Know About The Batman. .
1. Matt Reeves didn’t want to do another origin story. He didn’t think he had anything special to say that hadn’t already been said. He instead wanted to tell a story about a Batman who was imperfect. One that was still learning to be what he would become.
2. The first days of shooting were the scenes where they are investigating the Mayor’s murder in his mansion. They were still trying to figure out what they had while also seeing where Robert might go with the character. They ended up going over while shooting these scenes because they were still testing out some concepts of the characters.
3. Reeves really wanted to incorporate the classic Bob Kane Batman stories. The Detective had been somewhat lost in recent years and they wanted that element back in the film.
4. Inspiration from Frank Miller’s Year One. It’s clear that it’s there in the film but it’s mostly spotlighted with the relationship between Batman and Gordon.
5. The costume had two jobs: be very intimidating, and be very tactical. Costume designer Glyn Dillon wanted it to feel almost like a piece of the background. Something that isn’t even noticeable. It’s a costume that is still evolving with his time as a crimefighter and also with the city.
6. Alfred is the surrogate father who never chose to be a surrogate father. He’s also the one who failed as a bodyguard when the Wayne’s died and then taught Bruce how to defend himself. Alfred is deeply responsible for the creation of The Batman and he carries the weight of that as a character.
7. Production was shut down for 6 months due to the pandemic. Every precaution possible was taken upon returning from the shutdown. One crewmember died and the film is dedicated to him.
8. Colin Farrell’s character, in his mind, started with the Burgess Meredith Batman series Penguin. Then he looked at pictures of The Penguin from the Arkham game series and got in his head an image of a bare-knuckle fighter. A man with scars on his face that tell stories we may never know.
9. The finale is meant to be transformational for both Batman and for the city. Both of them would have to be different moving forward according to Matt Reeves.
10. The Batmobile in this film was designed to have an “animalistic appearance” to it. Reeves wanted it to feel like something from a horror movie when it was onscreen.
