Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight trilogy was shaped by a shameless studio observation

When Warner Bros. asked… Christopher Nolan on whether he had any ideas for reviving the Batman franchise After “Batman & Robin” took the character to the extremes of the cinematic spectrum, Nolan immediately knew what to do. “I saw it right away,” the director said in an interview featured in . Tom Schon’s 2020 book Nolan Differences: Christopher Nolan’s Films, Mysteries, and Wonders.

“I said, ‘No, no, you’ve never done with Batman what you did with Superman in the ’70s. The whole excavation approach, where you bring him into this big production ethic, with all these name actors and faces, and bring him down to earth — not strictly speaking, But in an action movie sense what if this was as real as any other action movie?

WB executive Greg Silverman gave Nolan and his producing partner (and wife) Emma Thomas some requirements before starting: “Batman Begins” had to be rated PG-13 instead of R so kids could see it in theaters, and after some thought… Silverman also added, “It would be cool if Batman had a really cool car.” The last remark gave Nolan pause at first:

“I remember thinking, ‘I don’t know…really? Can we make this work?’ And I said, ‘That’s a big challenge.’” That ended up being the thing that we focused on, even when we were writing the script, it was about, from where It’s coming, what’s it going to look like, how do we explain that in our novel? The key to a lot of things, we were all talking about, “How do you sell the idea of ​​a guy in a costume?” What are myths?

Not only did Nolan have to justify a guy beating up criminals while dressed as a bat, he also had to justify introducing a “pretty cool car” in the movie so the studio could make money from the promotion. For some directors, it may have been a “line in the sand” moment, or a time to battle with the studio over the vision and integrity of the picture. But Nolan took this observation in stride and let it guide his entire approach to making the trilogy (Although it was not originally conceived as a trilogy).

In other interviews, Nolan said he was not initially planning to include a version of The Batmobile in his film (“I was assuming we wouldn’t deal with that at all, or that it would be a thing if someone made a sequel later because it seemed so fantastical.”) But he and production designer Nathan Crowley eventually came up with a design for something that could conceivably exist within the world they were creating , and the car takes center stage in a thrilling chase through Gotham City.

Naturally, the acrobat eventually appeared “The Dark Knight” (a better movie than you remember) And I got a better view of that unforgettable moment of Batman emerging from the damaged car onto the Batpod’s motorcycle. The moment represents a progression of sorts between the films – a compromise between the Tumbler and the Bat, the flying car that would appear in 2012’s The Dark Knight Rises. All three vehicles were designed with realism in mind, but by the time the series progressed to “The Dark Knight Rises,” the film’s stylized demands were pushing the boundaries of this established approach. (Once our hero starts flying above the streets in a flying car, the film begins to delve into more complex territory and makes it more difficult for viewers to suspend their disbelief.)

Still, it’s impressive that Nolan and his collaborators were able to strike such a stark studio commercial note in a way that not only felt organic to the story, but had impact. A spirit that has seeped into every other aspect of the Dark Knight trilogy.