Batman Films Have Always Been Unforgettable. Here Are 10 Interesting Things You May Not Know About Them

Batman's world has been alive and well, and dramatically expanding in the recent years. We had Ben Affleck, who left the role but will eventually return for the Flash, we had a brilliant solo feature for the Joker, a couple of quality animated films and finally the long-awaited The Batman by the director Matt Reeves.

While we are all gushing about the new film starring Robert Pattinson, let's take a look at the previous feature films and some interesting things you may not have known about them. 

1. Jack Nicholson earned $ 50 million for his role as the Joker

At the time, Nicholson was receiving fees of around $ 10 million for his films. However, he accepted $ 6 million fee for his role as Tim Burton's Joker, agreeing to receive some percentage from the sale of accessories and souvenirs, as well as from the box office sales. The film was extremely successful, earning $ 411 million. Jack Nicholson eventually made more than $ 50 million on the film.

In addition, the actor had very favourable terms while filming, having had the right to take time off whenever the Los Angeles Lakers basketball team plays at home, so he can go watch the game.

2. Fans refused Michael Keaton and the director Tim Burton

After announcing, that Batman will be played by Michael Keaton and directed by Tim Burton, dissatisfied letters from the fans began arriving at Warner Bros. studios. Keaton has not starred in many successful films before and was best known for the fantasy comedy Beetlejuice.

Beetlejuice was directed by Burton, who at the time, in addition to Beetlejuice, only had short and animated films in his portfolio. These two are here to shoot a quality Batman film? The palpable dissatisfaction of the fans was understandable.

Fortunately, the Warner Brothers trusted them, and we got two great films about Batman. Almost 30 years later, Keaton's version will return in the solo feature Flash.

3. Batman Forever and Batman and Robin were failures, filmed by Joel Schumacher, who gave Batman nipples

After Batman Returns (1992) earned less than its predecessor, Tim Burton was fired from Warner Brothers studios. They wanted a much more family-oriented film that wouldn't be so serious and dark, but rather, somewhat colourful. This was largely due to the fact that Batman Returns had a lot of ad placement at McDonald’s. Their customers, families with children, eventually went to the cinema to see murder, violence and Penguin biting someone's nose off.

So, they hired Joel Schumacher to shoot a completely different Batman. Eventually, they also replaced the main character, and let Val Kilmer wear the bat costume. However, he also gave up after the third one. The role did not inspire him and the creators were not satisfied with it either. According to the director, he was a very complicated person who was hard to work with. 

The quality of Batman Forever and Batman and Robin stands on the shoulders of both the director and the studio that chose this path. Schumacher, however, managed to sign his name on one more fatal mistake. He had artificial nipples made for the bat-costume worn by George Clooney in Batman and Robin.

This was extremely tasteless.
Focusing on nipples and butts where we should see a cape? Ew.

4. How a drunk driver crashed into a Batmobile, how much did it cost to make it, and why did Nolan need 7 versions of the vehicle?

 Christopher Nolan wanted his Batmobile to fit into his Batman's more serious and grounded portrayal. A fantasy model from Burton's films was out of the question. They designed the Tumbler, essentially a "tank", that weighed two tons and could go from 0 to 100 km / h in 6 seconds. The maximum speed of the vehicle was 260 km / h.

The construction of the first Tumbler cost $ 150,000 thousand and a year of engineering work. Nolan knew it would be a really complex machine, so he came up with the design before the film began production. They completed the prototype 2 weeks before they needed to use it for filming.

The appearance of the vehicle surprised many. One Chicago resident would really be able to say something about it. The drunk driver panicked as he looked at the Batmobile and was so startled, that his first instinct told him, the aliens had arrived. He stepped on the gas and fired it straight into Tumbler. Luckily, nothing serious happened.

Interesting fact: Tim Burton's Batmobile cost $ 162,500 and the engineers were putting it together for 100 days. The crew only had two models available. Nolan had seven models. They used two to shoot the chases. One was used to shoot the front hydraulics in action. Another model was used to show a propane booster (turbo).

The fifth Tumbler was referred to as the "Arrival Tumbler". It appeared in scenes where Batman was stepping out of the vehicle, so the roof had to be foldable. Sixth tumbler was fully furnished in the interior and also much more spacious, allowing enough space to fit the cameras and the crew. The Seventh Tumbler was one-fifth the size compared to all the others and was used to shoot the scenes where Batman was jumping with the car.

5. Nolan filmed the Dark Knight trilogy, just to get the money from Warner Bros. to shoot Inception 

Christopher Nolan has been thinking about Inception for over 10 years. Warner Bros. refused to give him that much money for the film (the film eventually cost the studio $ 160 million). The director and screenwriter first had to prove, that he could handle such a blockbuster. At the time, Warner Bros. were just looking for a director for the new Batman film.

Nolan convinced them that he was the right person during their 15-minute meeting. He signed a contract for the whole trilogy, agreeing, that he could shoot something of his own between each film (Inception and Prestige)

6. There is no Joker without Heath Ledger

Heath Ledger came up with his own version of Joker's laugh. He locked himself in a hotel room, isolated from everything, fully immersed in his role, for over a month. He behaved normally outside of filming, and Joker's alter ego did not wake up until the cameras started. He didn't want his co-stars to get used to his laughter and crazy behaviour. Every time they saw the Joker, it was authentic and chilling.

Heath is also responsible for the make-up. One day it occurred to him that the Joker would also paint his face himself. He therefore bought the supplies and showed the creators his own version of the Joker make-up. Nolan liked it so much that he asked the make-up artists to imitate that look every day of shooting.

Heath is also responsible for on one Joker's distinctive features. The constant movement of the lips is a result of artificial accessories that created Joker's scarred face. Nolan liked his bad habit so much that he asked him to do it regularly.

Did you know that Heath was directing both blackmailing videos that the Joker sent to GCN? The first was overseen by Nolan, but after that, he gave Heath complete creative freedom, and he directed the second video all by himself.

7. Dark Knight Rises is Nolan's most expensive film

Batman Begins cost $ 150 million, Dark Knight $ 185 million and Dark Knight Rises cost an enormous $ 250 million. This investment paid off for Warner Bros. The last two films alone have made more than $ 2 billion in the box office. By comparison, Interstellar cost $ 165 million, Dunkirk $ 100 million, Inception $ 160 million and Tenet more than $ 200 million.

8. Joker was scripted to appear in The Dark Knight Rises

There are no details, but all the speculations over the years have said the same. Nolan and Heath Legder wanted to show the Joker at least once more. He was to appear at his own trial in The Dark Knight Rises. Of course, the decision to not include Joker came down to the Heath Legder's tragic death. Out of respect for him, the name Joker does not come up once in The Dark Knight Rises.

9. Christian Bale fell asleep while filming Batman Begins. He was woken up be surprised Michael Caine

Bruce Wayne's nightlife caught up even with his portraying actor, Christian Bale. During one of the scenes in which Wayne is resting after being drugged with Scarecrow's toxins, his acting colleague Michael Caine caught him asleep. This was the first scene Bale shot with Caine and Morgan Freeman (he played Lucius Fox).

Bale simply fell asleep on the bed and did not hear the word "Action!". "I woke up to Michael Caine saying, 'Look, he's asleep, isn't he?' He fell asleep! ” and pinching me in the ribs.”

10. Did Bruce Wayne survive the ending of The Dark Knight Rises?

At the end of The Dark Knight Rises, we see Alfred on vacation in an Italian restaurant. He looks around and notices his faithful friend Bruce along with Selina (Catwoman played by Anne Hathaway). Alfred greets him and Bruce smiles at him. Did it really happen, did Bruce survive and then fake his own death, leaving his legacy to John Blake (Robin, played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt), or is it all just happening in Alfred's head? 

Fans of the film are still discussing this (as well as the Totem from Inception). Apparently Bruce actually survived. This is indicated by several events right at the end of the film. Lucius Fox learns that the autopilot on The Bat was repaired by Bruce Wayne himself, so he could jump out of the vehicle and the vehicle could continue escape with the bomb.

We also heard that his mother's necklace, among other things, is missing from Wayne's estate. Later, in a scene where Alfred notices them, we see it on Selina's neck . To make matters worse, actor Michael Caine himself claims that Bruce actually survived. According to him, it was not imagination.