20 Things You Didn't Know About Batman Begins

19. Batman Begins Was Inspired By An Obscure Comic And Blade Runner

Batman Begins
Warner Bros.

Batman Begins was obviously inspired by comic stories like Batman: Year One and Daughter of the Demon, which introduced the film's antagonist, Ra's Al Ghul.

There are a few other obscure places where the writer and director drew inspiration. A lesser-known comic called The Man Who Falls was the "jumping off point" for Batman Begins. This short story shows Bruce Wayne travelling the world to find purpose after his parents died. There is a page showing Bruce falling down a well and being attacked by bats, which was incorporated directly into the film shot-for-shot.

The writer, David S. Goyer, took inspiration from Batman: The Long Halloween due to its "sober, serious, approach". Goyer used elements from Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight Halloween Special while writing Scarecrow including the line, "Dr. Crane isn't here right now."

According to the director, Christopher Nolan, comics weren't the only source of inspiration. Before shooting anything for Batman Begins, he invited his entire crew to watch the sci-fi masterpiece, Blade Runner. He loved how Blade Runner's world was "an interesting lesson on the technique of exploring and describing a credible universe that doesn't appear to have any boundaries" and wanted to apply this element to Batman Begins.

Contributor

James Egan has been with Whatculture for five years and prominently works on Horror, Film, and Video Games. He's written over 80 books including 1000 Facts about Horror Movies Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts about The Greatest Films Ever Made Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts about Video Games Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts About James Bond 1000 Facts About TV Shows