20 Things You Didn't Know About Batman Begins
Looking at the first entry of The Dark Knight trilogy.
For years, The Dark Knight was hailed as the greatest superhero film ever. On IMDb, it has has been ranked as one of the top four greatest films of ANY GENRE for 12 years straight. The Dark Knight trilogy set a new standard for the superhero movies, causing every comic film to up their game.
Because The Dark Knight was so influential, we forget how incredible and influential the first film in the series was. In a way, Batman Begins is a bigger accomplishment since it made people care about Batman for the first time in years. Without Batman Begins, there is no movie titled The Dark Knight.
Not only is Batman Begins a brilliant film, there are a lot of fascinating things that occurred behind the scenes before, during, and after it was made. Do you know which terrorist Ra's Al Ghul is based on? Do you know who nearly directed the film? Do you know what the studio would have done if the movie tanked?
All these questions will be answered and more, proving there is far more to Batman Begins than you could have ever imagined.
20. The Studio Wanted Ashton Kutcher For Batman
Christian Bale was only 13 years old when he blew audiences away with his performance in Steven Spielberg's Empire of the Sun. Even after 30 years, Bale has never been far from the limelight. Despite Bale's achievements and awards, he is best-known as playing Batman in Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy. Not only did the franchise reinvigorate the superhero genre, many people view Bale as the best portrayal of the character. He fits into the role so well, it's difficult to picture anyone else in the part,
As hard as it may be to believe, Warner Bros. desperately coveted Ashton Kutcher for the the titular role in the Batman reboot. At the time, Kutcher was known for playing goofball characters in That 70s Show and Dude, Where's My Car?
Naturally, DC fans were livid, believing Kutcher was completely unsuited for the role. Although it's hard to picture Kutcher in the cowl, comic fans reacted the same way when Michael Keaton was announced in Tim Burton's adaption.
Warner Bros. was so adamant to have Kutcher as the face of a superhero franchise, they also pushed him to play the lead role in Superman Returns.