Christopher Nolan Almost Didn't Put The Batmobile In Batman Begins
Batman has some of the biggest iconography in all of superherodom. He has the cowl, the cave, the utility belt, and the car. He is arguably the only comic book character whose props and vehicles are as known as the actual character. This is especially true of the Batmobile, the only superhero non-sentient object to get its own spin-off show (a ludicrous prediction from "Teen Titans Go! To the Movies" that actually became true — what's next, a utility belt movie?).
The Batmobile has been a part of every single Batman adaptation, from the Adam West show, to each of the film reinterpretations — which took influences from different eras of the comics. And yet, it feels like every time we get a new one, it is one of the biggest challenges for the design team and the crew (just ask Matt Reeves' crew on "The Batman"). But when it came time for Christopher Nolan to reinterpret the Batman mythos, his choice almost deprived us of a new Batmobile.
In a behind-the-scenes documentary about the making of "The Dark Knight" trilogy, Nolan confessed he was originally not going to include the iconic vehicle. "I couldn't conceive of any way, at that stage, to get the Batmobile into the film," the filmmaker said. "I had been assuming we would not deal with that at all, or that would be something that if somebody made sequels later on because it seems so fanciful."
The decision to include the Batmobile in "Batman Begins" came down to the studio all but asking for it. Greg Silverman, President of Production at Warner Bros., essentially asked Nolan if the car would fit his vision, "Because I love the Batmobile."
Say hello to the Bat Tumbler
According to Nolan, hearing that the studio wasn't imposing the Batmobile, but essentially said "it's gonna be disappointing without it," he decided to take on the challenge. Because it was a challenge to adopt such a comic book concept to Nolan's vision.
The 1989 "Batman" was wildly different from the Adam West show and other portrayals, and it shocked audiences with its grim and dark story and art deco style. Still, it did take tonal and visual inspiration from Frank Miller's "Dark Knight Returns," keeping squarely in the realm of comic books.
But that wasn't Nolan's "Batman Begins," which was never planned to be the first entry in a trilogy. Though the film takes story inspiration from many comic books, the look of the film is taken from the real world, aiming to deliver a more realistic superhero film. A flashy car with a bunch of guns, which can only be driven by Batman but not be so pompous as to have anyone figure out who bought it, is not easy to find. It also makes sense that Nolan didn't want to include the Batmobile at first, given that a lot of the plot of the film takes place in The Narrows — a small, crowded part of Gotham without much space for cars.
And yet, the Tumbler endured and became integral to Nolan's vision of The Dark Knight. As David Goyer says in the same behind-the-scenes documentary, the goal was to have a car that focused on function over form, and that felt practical. The Tumbler, a military off-road tank prototype, was the perfect compromise, a vehicle that feels real even if it wasn't, that served a practical purpose to this more militarized version of Batman, and also looked rather cool.