15 Things You (Probably) Didn't Know About Batman Begins

After what we now associate with the character of Batman, it's hard to remember just how he was perceived before 2005. Batman Begins was a flawless start to a new era for Bruce Wayne, reinvigorating a series that had veered off into a neon-soaked direction.

You've probably watched the movie countless times but here are a few things you may not know about Batman Begins.

(Images: AllStar)

1

The name of officer who recovered the Joker card seen at the end is J. Kerr. Joe Kerr is one of The Joker's (more obvious) pseudonyms in the comics.

2

Cillian Murphy auditioned to play Batman. Nolan liked him so much, though obviously not for that role, that he cast him as The Scarecrow.

3

Nolan’s pitch to Warner Bros that won him the directing job took just 15 minutes. 

4

Christian Bale was reportedly paid $9 million for the film. That went up to $15 million by time he got to The Dark Knight Rises. 

5

Gary Oldman was only cast as Gordon after Nolan’s original choice of Chris Cooper turned down the role because it would keep him away from his family for too long.

6

The Batman cowl was so tight that it would give Bale severe headaches; he said he was in a terrible rage after an hour inside it.

6

Christian Bale wasn’t allowed to drive the Batmobile.

7

The serial killer Mr. Zsasz from the comics - he marks his body every time he kills someone - very briefly appears in the film. He’s played by Tim Booth, better known as the lead singer of the band James.

8

The little kid Rachel rescues is played by Jack Gleeson, aka Joffrey from Game of Thrones.

10

Christian Bale wanted to be part of the plannedBatman: Year One that Darren Aronofsky had been developing, but before he could make his interest known the film was scrapped.

12

Though Katie Holmes was Nolan’s first choice for Rachel Dawes he also considered Reese Witherspoon, Rachel McAdams, Sarah Michelle Gellar and Claire Danes. 

12

Nolan considered including the Harvey Dent character in Batman Begins but, worried that he couldn’t do him justice, he replaced him with Rachel Dawes (Katie Holmes). Obviously Harvey Dent then appeared in the sequel.

13

This is the first live-action Batman project to feature The Scarecrow, a character who first appeared in the comics in 1941. It was originally planned that he’d appear in the aborted Batman and Robin sequelBatman Triumphant.

14

A full city block of the 'Narrows' was constructed on an enormous soundstage, which measured 880-feet long. That's almost the length of the Titanic.

15

Although Christopher Nolan was determined that the film use as little CGI as possible it still included around 600 special effects shots.