In the 8 years following Batman & Robin, the Batman film franchise underwent development hell until director Christopher Nolan reinvented the character and his world in the 2005 motion picture, Batman Begins. The success of Nolan's first Batman movie went on to spawn 2 more, thus establishing The Dark Knight trilogy.
Christopher Nolan's unique interpretation had believably grounded the character like never before on film or in other media, including comic books. The changes that came with this different portrayal of Batman have become highly influential in popular culture since then.
10 Christopher Nolan Changed The Batmobile Into A Militarized Vehicle
According to a behind-the-scenes interview, the very first change Christopher Nolan made was the militarization of Batman's iconic car, referred to as the Tumbler. While this is not the first time that the vehicle was shown as a tank (the first such depiction was in The Dark Knight Returns, written and illustrated by Frank Miller, with artist Klaus Janson), it would be far from the last, as evidenced by those in Batman: Arkham Knight and the DCEU. Nolan's Batmobile was ultimately based more on function and believability rather than form, for the car wasn't a customized hot-rod like in previous movies.
9 Christopher Nolan Made Batman's Voice Deep & Raspy
Christopher Nolan gave the green light on actor Christian Bale's guttural growler of a voice whenever Batman spoke throughout the trilogy. Batman's deep, throaty rasp was made much more prominent in the sequels, The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises, to some criticism. This was a stark contrast to the voices of past actors, especially since Batman's vocal tone was usually dark but solemn.
8 Christopher Nolan Changed Batman To Be Less Skilled & Knowledgeable
Batman of the comic books is a highly trained and conditioned polymath to a rather unrealistic degree. He is often described as being at the peak of human potential, mentally and physically. However, Nolan's take on Batman made the hero significantly less skilled and knowledgeable, and is much more fallible and human.
The Batman in Nolan's films is still a combat and stealth expert (though not on the same level as the comics), but lacks the detective abilities of his comic book counterpart, relying on Lucius Fox and his brilliant mind instead.
7 Christopher Nolan Deconstructed How Long Batman's Career Would Be In Real Life
Batman is usually portrayed as fighting crime for many years. Among the changes Christopher Nolan made was deconstructing how long Batman's crime-fighting career would be in real life. Unlike previous films, the physical toll of being Batman is evident based on the injuries Bruce Wayne receives (especially when he was in his prime), as well as his mental scarring after Rachel Dawes' death (via warehouse explosion caused by the Joker). As a result, Nolan's Batman was only actively fighting crime for up to 2 years before returning after 8 years of retirement in The Dark Knight Rises.
6 Christopher Nolan Reduced Batman's Rogues Gallery
Due to the limitations of the films' plot constraints, as well as not being serialized on TV, Nolan reduced the number of Batman's Rogues Gallery members to a relative few.
In Batman Begins, there was Carmine Falcone, Dr. Jonathan Crane/Scarecrow, Victor Zsasz, and Ra's al Ghul. The Joker, Harvey Dent/Two-Face, and Sal Maroni were in The Dark Knight. And finally, in The Dark Knight Rises, Bane, Selina Kyle/Catwoman, and Talia al Ghul were the antagonists.
5 Christopher Nolan Changed The Focus From Batman To Bruce Wayne
Given the immense popularity of Batman as a beloved and iconic antihero, it's easy for many fans and characters to dismiss the Bruce Wayne persona as a facade above all else. In Nolan's cinematic stories, however, the focus is very much on Bruce Wayne as a person, with Batman more as a symbol.
While there is a cast of different and prominent characters (such as the villains), the trilogy is primarily centered on Bruce as he experiences the consequences of his actions, before, during, and after his time as Batman.
4 Christopher Nolan Changed Batman's Origin Story
When Christopher Nolan rebooted the film franchise, he also changed Batman's origin story. Joe Chill still murders Thomas and Martha Wayne, but the crime is partly caused by Bruce having a panic attack during the showing of Mefistofele, which made the Waynes leave into an alley.
Traumatized, Bruce doesn't dedicate his mind and body to rigorous training to wage a war on crime until he's an adult and recruited into the League of Shadows (and personally taught by Ra's al Ghul). The League is also indirectly responsible for the Wayne tragedy, having crippled Gotham's economy, causing people like Chill to live in hard times.
3 Christopher Nolan Changed Batman's Rules To Be More Flexible
Batman generally doesn't use guns and/or kill. However, Nolan's Batman was somewhat flexible with his rules. In Batman Begins, Bruce is responsible for many League of Shadows' members dying from the fire he caused inside their monastery. By the film's climax, Batman leaves Ra's al Ghul in the train to die in the crash.
When Bruce returns to Gotham to save it from Bane's occupation in the last act of The Dark Knight Rises, he uses The Bat's ballistics against the stolen Tumblers and the armored truck carrying the modified fusion bomb, killing Talia and her men.
2 Christopher Nolan Changed Batman's Motivations
The Batman in The Dark Knight trilogy is different from his comic book counterpart in terms of motivations. While both versions of Bruce are driven to make Gotham a better place for its citizens, their driving points differ.
Nolan's Bruce Wayne was primarily moved by Rachel Dawes (to do and be better), who reprimanded him for wanting to kill Joe Chill, with a gun no less; he even retires for 8 years because he couldn't move on from her death. Comic book Batman, however, is motivated by vengeance and justice to fight crime no matter what.
1 Christopher Nolan Had Batman Go Through Character Development
Christopher Nolan's Bruce Wayne/Batman is unlike others because he goes through deep character development throughout the trilogy. Bruce Wayne begins as a lost and angry young man who learns to channel his rage during his League of Shadows' training. As Batman over the course of a year or so, he gains confidence and success, though he has to sacrifice his reputation to save Harvey Dent's legacy.
8 years later, an older but not quite wiser Wayne returns as Batman, only to be easily defeated by Bane. In the Pit, Bruce eventually recovers, rebuilds his body, relearns how to feel fear, and does whatever it takes to save Gotham (before letting go of Batman by starting anew with Selina).
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