Movies

How 'Justice League' Influenced The 'Batman V Superman' Batmobile

Batman v Superman Batmobile
By Angie Han

Of all the Bat-gadgets, perhaps the most popular is the Batmobile. Each interpretation of the Caped Crusader has put its own spin on his favorite ride, and as we've already seen in the promotional materials, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is no exception.

In a new interview, production designer Patrick Tatopoulos talks about what makes this Batmobile special, how it'll be introduced in the movie, and how a certain film that hasn't even started shooting yet influenced its design. Read all about the Batman v Superman Batmobile after the jump. 

Tatopoulos discussed the intense process of designing and creating the new Batmobile with Empire (via CBM):

[Truly] an emotional process — it's about what feels right. I showed Zack and Zack said, 'Cool.' Sometimes it just clicks. These films are very grounded. There will be tons of CG, but also a lot of real stuff — especially with Batman. Of course, building a car from scratch is challenging. The car drives, jumps, pretty much does everything. We got the best people.

Though the Batmobile has already been revealed as part of the Batman v Superman marketing campaign, Tatopoulos shed some more light on the general feel of the vehicle — as well as some intriguing details about its introduction in the movie.

He is not driving a Formula 1 car, he's driving a tank that is very sexy looking. Batman is rougher, tougher, and grungier. So everything is rough: the weapons, the suit and the car. There are machine guns mounted on the front. [...]

Batmobiles are often designed very low to the ground, something classical. That didn't feel fully comfortable for us. I thought the Tumbler was a revolutionary design, with the suspension very high up. I wanted to combine the two vehicles. I wanted something of a motorcycle, too: big wheels, suspension, exhausts.

Ben Affleck has described his Batman as "older, more broken, kind of f**cked up" and it sounds like the same could be said of his signature vehicle in the movie. "When you first see the Batmobile, it is being fixed," Tatopoulos revealed. "It is not — boom! — coming out of the garage brand new. It is scratched, damaged."

Besides the obvious influence of the Dark Knight movies, the design of the new Batmobile was also informed by the upcoming Justice League — a film that won't even start shooting until next year. Tatopoulos explained:

With The Justice League coming, it influences my designs of the Batcave, the Batmobile, the Batwing. We are creating a world for Batman – every set, every prop, is real. We have to be ready for what's next.

"What's next," of course, being the two Justice League films in 2017 and 2019 and that as-yet-undated Batman solo outing. It's a good thing the Batmobile is getting fixed up, because it sounds like it could stick around a while. But first, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice opens March 25, 2016.

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