50 Fun Facts About Batman Begins

Who directed Batman Begins?

Warner Bros. hired him in January 2003, a month after rejecting an origin-story pitch from Joss Whedon.

Who plays Bruce Wayne?

Bale was relatively unknown when confirmed on September 11, 2003; Cillian Murphy and Henry Cavill were among the others who showed interest.

Which co-writer worked on the screenplay with Nolan?

Goyer signed on two months after Nolan was hired and returned for the sequels.

Which two villains does Batman fight in the film?

They were chosen because neither had appeared in earlier Batman films or the 1960s TV series.

Which actor plays Henri Ducard, revealed to be the true Ra's al Ghul?

Neeson is usually cast as a mentor, so the twist was designed to shock; Gary Oldman was the first choice.

Which actor plays Dr. Jonathan Crane, the Scarecrow?

Murphy had auditioned for Batman himself; Robert Downey Jr. was also considered for Crane.

Who plays Alfred Pennyworth?

Nolan hand-delivered the script to Caine's country home after Anthony Hopkins declined.

Which backstory did the actor playing Alfred invent for him?

Caine imagined Thomas Wayne wanted 'a butler, but someone a bit tougher than that'.

Which actor plays James Gordon?

Chris Cooper turned the part down, and Nolan liked the idea of casting a famous screen villain as the good cop.

Who plays Bruce's childhood friend, the assistant district attorney?

Maggie Gyllenhaal took over the role in The Dark Knight; Amy Adams was the casting reader for the Bruce Wayne auditions.

Which character was written into the film in place of Harvey Dent?

The writers felt they couldn't do Dent justice; Aaron Eckhart played him in the sequel.

Who plays Lucius Fox?

Fox is demoted to Applied Sciences at the start and promoted to CEO by the end.

Which actor plays the decoy Ra's al Ghul during Bruce's training?

The real leader hides in plain sight as Bruce's mentor.

Which crime boss does Tom Wilkinson play?

He was drawn from Batman: The Long Halloween and tells Bruce that real power comes from being feared.

Which actor plays William Earle, the CEO taking Wayne Enterprises public?

Bruce buys a controlling stake and fires him at the end.

Which future Game of Thrones actor appears as a young admirer of Batman?

He was cast on Bale's recommendation after they had worked together on Reign of Fire.

Where does Bruce meet Ducard, who recruits him into the League of Shadows?

The Bhutan scenes were shot on Iceland's Vatnajökull glacier in 75 mph winds.

What is the name of the mugger who kills Bruce's parents?

He is shot by a Falcone assassin posing as a reporter before Bruce can kill him.

Instead of a Zorro film, what outing unsettles young Bruce right before his parents' murder?

Nolan dropped the Zorro idea so that becoming a bat-themed hero would be entirely Bruce's own idea.

How does Ra's al Ghul plan to spread the Scarecrow's fear toxin across Gotham?

The stolen Wayne Enterprises emitter is loaded onto the monorail bound for the source under Wayne Tower.

Where is Gotham's central water source, the League's target for releasing the toxin?

Batman confronts Ra's on the monorail carrying the emitter there, and Gordon destroys the track.

What clue does Gordon share in the final scene, setting up the sequel?

Gordon has just been promoted to lieutenant and unveils the Bat-Signal.

Which Denny O'Neil short story about Bruce's world travels was Nolan's 'jumping off point'?

The scene of young Bruce falling into the well came straight from it.

Which 1978 film did Nolan cite as inspiration for the hero's growth and all-star supporting cast?

He also screened Blade Runner to his cinematographer to show the world-building attitude he wanted.

Which 1982 film did Nolan screen for his crew as a lesson in building a credible universe?

He called it a lesson in describing a world that doesn't appear to have boundaries.

Which glacier stood in for Bhutan during filming?

Rain, wind and a lack of snow forced one planned crane shot to be done handheld.

Which English country house stood in for Wayne Manor?

Nolan liked its white floors, which suggested a memorial to Bruce's parents; Wollaton Hall took over in The Dark Knight Rises.

Which US city hosted the Tumbler chase, on Lower Wacker Drive?

Authorities raised the Franklin Street Bridge for the scene where the Narrows is sealed off.

Which two composers wrote the score?

They wrote separate themes for Bruce Wayne and Batman, with Zimmer on action and Howard on drama.

Which Hong Kong slum inspired the design of the Narrows?

Gotham's look also borrowed Tokyo's elevated freeways and monorails.

Which model aircraft's nose cone became the chassis of the Tumbler's turbine in the design mock-ups?

A full-size version was then carved from Styrofoam over two months.

What engine powered the street-ready Tumblers?

Each of the four working cars had 65 panels and cost about $250,000; one had a real jet engine fed by six propane tanks.

What happened on the Tumbler's first jump test?

It had to be rebuilt to survive self-propelled launches of up to 30 feet.

Which government body shared the electrostatic flocking process used to make the cape?

London police used the same process to reduce night-vision detection.

What was the codename of the secured Batsuit workshop at Shepperton Studios?

Costume designer Lindy Hemming built the suit from a neoprene undersuit with moulded latex sections.

Which Spanish self-defence system did the fight choreographers use?

Bale separately trained in Wing Chun under Eric Oram; the Keysi style was toned down for the third film.

Roughly how much muscle did Bale gain after The Machinist to play Batman?

He overshot by 30 pounds and had to lose the excess before filming.

Which earlier film in the series donated the sonar suit, via Val Kilmer, that was used for auditions?

The cape had been lost, and Amy Adams read opposite the candidates as a favour to the casting director.

Which city hosted the world premiere on May 31, 2005?

The US release followed on June 15 in 3,858 theatres, including 55 IMAX screens.

Roughly how much did the film gross worldwide, including its 2012 re-release?

It was the ninth-highest grosser of 2005 against a $150 million budget.

For which Academy Award was the film nominated?

Wally Pfister shot it; the film made Nolan a high-profile director.

Which term did the film help popularise in Hollywood?

Forbes noted on its 10th anniversary that 'dark and gritty' entered the lexicon too.

Which 1997 film's failure led Warner Bros. to shelve the franchise before Nolan's film?

Joel Schumacher's planned follow-up Batman Unchained was cancelled.

Which director-writer's Batman origin pitch did Warner Bros. reject in December 2002?

Aronofsky had earlier planned his own adaptation and wanted Joaquin Phoenix.

Which location played Arkham Asylum's exterior?

St Pancras and the Abbey Mills pumping station were used for the interiors.

Which grade did CinemaScore audiences give the film?

Roger Ebert called it 'the Batman movie I've been waiting for' and gave four stars.

Which airship hangar became a 900-foot sound stage for the Narrows?

The Batcave set at Shepperton had a waterfall fed by twelve pumps.

Which epic did Nolan invoke when describing Batman Begins as a large, sweeping film?

Nolan said he wanted to make the film he would have wanted to see at age 11, and had no problem with Warner Bros. ruling out an R rating.

Which actor turned down the role of Jim Gordon, prompting Nolan to give it to Gary Oldman?

Oldman had actually been Nolan's first choice for Ra's al Ghul; the director thought it would be refreshing to cast a famous screen villain as a hero.

How much did each of the four street-ready Tumblers cost to build?

Each car had 65 panels; two were specialised versions, including a 'flap' model with hydraulics for close-ups, and the cockpit interior was a separate oversized studio set.