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THE BATMAN was released 3 years ago today. Robert Pattinson’s debut as the Dark Knight, and among the more grounded takes on the character, the making of story is as epic and terrifying as Gotham City…

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Having appeared as Batman in the successful Batman vs Superman and Justice League, Ben Affleck was announced as the star, co-writer and director of a new standalone Batman film in 2016. Affleck and DC comics writer Geoff Johns wrote a script, called The Batman.

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However, in January 2017 Affleck announced he was stepping down as director, saying: “the role demands focus and the best performance I can give. It has become clear that I cannot do both jobs… I have decided to find a partner in a director who will collaborate with me.”

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The Hollywood rumour mill went into overdrive with reports that Denis Villeneuve, George Miller and Ridley Scott were being considered to direct. The studio, Warner Bros, actually wanted Planet of the Apes’ Matt Reeves and, after some contract issues, Reeves signed on.

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Reeves and Affleck worked together only briefly as a few weeks later, Warner Bros announced Affleck was leaving the new project entirely. The film was still going ahead though – Reeves was now writing a script with Peter Craig, and planning to cast a new actor to play Bruce Wayne/Batman.

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Nicholas Hoult, Armie Hammer and Aaron Taylor-Johnson were all reportedly in the running to take on the title role, but Reeves already had somebody in mind. As he was writing the script, he was thinking of Robert Pattinson playing the part.

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In shooting his final screen test, Pattinson wore the same costume Val Kilmer had worn in Batman Forever. He later said he took a selfie of himself in the suit "just in case it didn't work out."

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Pattinson’s audition took place while rehearsing for Tenet. He told director Christopher Nolan he had a family emergency but Nolan said “You’re doing the Batman audition, aren't you?" Then, when Pattinson won the part, Nolan congratulated him before Pattinson had told anyone.

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Pattinson dyed his blonde hair dark for the role then, after the 14-month shoot, shaved it all off. To differentiate the portrayal from previous versions, Pattinson and Reeves decided he shouldn’t affect a deeper voice when in the batsuit.

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Looking for the actress to play Selina Kyle/Catwoman, Reeves held a lot of auditions. Ana de Armas, Hannah John-Kamen, Nathalie Emmanuel, and Alicia Vikander were al reported to have auditioned.

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Lady Gaga apparently lobbied hard for the part too, but it eventually went to Zoe Kravitz who, by coincidence, had already played Catwoman. She voiced her in The Lego Batman Movie.

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Kravitz brought some ideas to the part. It was she who had the idea for Catwoman to have long, frightening nails without nail polish on them, so they looked more like claws.

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Jonah Hill was approached to play The Penguin but said no (apparently he was more interested in playing The Riddler). Reeves then met with Colin Farrell who had just put on weight for The North Water. Farrell accepted the role, but refused to keep the weight.

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Farrell wore a fat suit and concept art shows that the Penguin was originally supposed to basically look like Farrell. Makeup artist Mike Marino had other ideas though, and pitched the idea of transforming Farrell’s looks entirely.

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The facial prosthetics were made up of six pieces and to save hours in the makeup chair each day, Farrell agreed to shave half his head. This made applying the Penguin’s wig a much more simple task.

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Farrell said he had to wear a hat as he looked like St Francis, and his son was “utterly horrified” by him in full costume. He went to Starbucks as the Penguin to see if anybody would recognise him. Nobody did, but he got a few strange stares.

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The main antagonist is The Riddler. Barry Keoghan reportedly sent an audition tape for the part where he was dressed in dollar store props. Again, Reeves had written with somebody in mind, though, and Paul Dano was quickly cast in the part.

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Dano prepared for the part by reading about real-life serial killers. He said it got into his had too much so would only read in public. He also said he had trouble sleeping due to the claustrophobic costume. “My head was throbbing with heat” he said.

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DC Comics were so impressed with Dano’s portrayal of The Riddler that they asked him to write a six-issue series based on his version of the character. It was called Riddler: Year One.

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Reeves originally wanted Mahershala Ali to play Lt. Jim Gordon, but Ali had scheduling clashes with Blade. Instead, Reeves turned to Jeffrey Wright, who had previously voiced Batman in Batman: The Audio Adventures.

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In casting Bruce’s trusted butler Alfred Pennyworth, there were reports that Pierce Brosnan was in the running. That didn’t come to pass, and Andy Serkis was hired in the role.

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Reeves’ script changed a lot from Affleck/Johns’. In their original version, Deathstroke was the main villain, and would’ve been played by Joe Manganiello. Justice League had even featured a post-credits scene where Mangianello showed up as the character.

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In writing The Riddler, Reeves was influenced by the real-life Zodiac killer. He dresses like the Zodiac; The Zodiac used ciphers in letters to the police, that he would begin with “This is the Zodiac speaking.” The Riddler begins his video "This is the Riddler speaking.”

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Reeves cites also cites the classic comic books Batman: Ego, Batman: Year One and The Long Halloween as major influences on the film. He’d been aware of the Long Halloween since USC Film School when its writer, Jeph Loeb, had taught Reeves screenwriting.

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Batman's cowl and emblem designs in the film are similar to those in graphic novel Gotham By Gaslight. And Reeves has also said that classic Batman illustrator Francesco Francavilla was a big influence on the film noir-style look of his film.

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Reeves’ Bruce Wayne was inspired by an unlikely source in Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain. The influence was heard too when Reeves used Nirvana’s Something In The Way as the music track for the first trailer for The Batman.

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The Wayne Towers address is stated as being 139 Kane Street. This is a reference to Bob Kane, who co-created Batman with Bill Finger in 1939. (Also, in the comics, Martha Wayne’s maiden name is Kane).

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Reeves and DP Greig Fraser shot the film digitally. The 1970s-style look for the film was achieved by running the digital image through film and then scanning it back to digital. Fraser had had used the same technique on Dune: Part One.

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Reeves worked with composer Michael Giacchino on two Planet of the Apes films, and brought him in to score The Batman. Giacchino wrote the main theme before Pattinson was even cast, and took inspiration from The Imperial March from The Empire Strikes Back.

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This is the first version of Batman where we see the makeup that Bruce applies. Reeves said "I just loved the idea of taking off [the mask] and there's the sweating and the dripping and the whole theatricality of becoming this character."

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Kravitz and Pattinson both said they received the same advice from others who had played their roles, in Michelle Pfeiffer and Christian Bale. The advice being to make sure they could go to the bathroom while in costume.

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The inspiration for the Batcave is the New York story about a train station existing below the Waldorf Astoria hotel. Also, we see a William Shakespeare bust in Wayne Manor. This is a reference to the 1960s series, where a Shakespeare bust would open the Batcave.

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The Batmobile in this film is a sports coupe car customised by Batman. The main influence behind this was 1970s comic book artist Neal Adams and his depictions of the Batmobile. Reeves said "I liked the idea of the car itself as a horror figure.”

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Production started in January 2020 put was put on hold in March due to Covid lockdown restrictions. Filming resumed again in August but was shut down again after two days when Robert Pattinson failed a Covid test. In total, production spanned 14 months.

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Not wanting to risk contracting the virus himself, Reeves wrapped up on set. He said he was like "a burrito… You couldn't see my face, and this is the way the actors saw me for the rest of the movie. I was like this ridiculous, hermetically sealed creature. It was absurd."

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To protect themselves further, reeves and Pattinson would communicate through earpieces and microphones. Pattinson said “If it was a tense scene, you'd suddenly hear his breathing accelerate… It's a strangely intimate experience."

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The exterior shots were mostly filmed in Liverpool, England. Reeves loved the architecture of the city and thought it worked great to give his Gotham City a distinctive look.

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The famous “I’m vengeance” line was Pattinson’s idea. He said "I wanted to say it as the guy is losing consciousness so it goes into his dreams. I really wanted his future to be really, really damaged."

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The look of Selina’s apartment is taken from Batman: Year One. The fact that her roommate Annika Kosolov is also a potential romantic partner (and the two being implied to be escorts) is also taken from that book. In the book she’s called Holly Robinson, though.

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There were rumours of Pattinson and Reeves not getting along. It wasn’t true but Pattinson said there was one occasion where Reeves kept pushing him to the point he felt he was overacting. Reeves had him watch a take back, and Pattinson realised he was right.

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It took a reported 200 takes to get the scene where The Riddler finally contact with Batman on Gil Colson's mobile. Reeves let Dano film the scene for real on a mobile, and he shot it again and again in many ways.

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Reeves said the Batman and Riddler prison cell scene took "70 or 80 takes: "Paul loves exploring. There were all these moments as the Riddler where he'd be tickled by something and then fly into a rage. You never knew from take to take where that switch would come.”

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The visual effects studio was ILM. They had a problem when Farrell improvised during the car explosion scene (“I got you!” I got you!”) and Reeves loved it. They had to recreate the sequence to be longer and incorporate more explosions and flames.

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After Keoghan’s unsuccessful audition as The Riddler, Reeves cast him as The Joker instead. To prevent spoilers, Keoghan filmed fake scenes wearing a police uniform. Photos of him then leaked, claiming he was playing Officer Stanley Merkel.

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Reeves has said that The Joker has had his scars from birth and his permanent smile is the result of a congenital disease. The makeup was based on Conrad Veidt's look in The Man Who Laughs, which had influenced the creation of the character decades earlier.

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When the Batman opened, it was the first Warner Bros. movie in over a year not to be released on HBO Max simultaneously (due to the Covid pandemic). Despite this, it still made $770m from its $185m budget, so was a huge hit.

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Finally… after the end credits, a message appears prompting viewers to visit rataalada.com – the website The Riddler uses to taunt Batman in the film. The site is still there, though it’s been seized by Gotham City Police Department.

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If you liked our story on the making of THE BATMAN, please share the opening post.

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THE BATMAN was released 3 years ago today. Robert Pattinson’s debut as the Dark Knight, and among the more grounded takes on the character, the making of story is as epic and terrifying as Gotham City…

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THE BATMAN was released 3 years ago today. Robert Pattinson’s debut...

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