The Batman production designer James Chinlund discusses the inspiration behind Bruce Wayne’s Batcave, which makes use of an old subway station.
The Batman production designer, James Chinlund, discusses the inspiration behind Bruce Wayne’s Batcave, which makes use of an old subway station. The beloved comic book hero returned to screens earlier this year with director Matt Reeves at the helm, who offered a dark detective-noir take on the Caped Crusader. The Batman saw Robert Pattinson star as Bruce Wayne, alongside a star-studded ensemble cast that included the likes of Zoë Kravitz, Paul Dano, Colin Farrell, Jeffrey Wright, and Andy Serkis.
Drawing inspirations from classic Batman comics such as Year One and The Long Halloween, The Batman leaned into a different side of the Dark Knight and followed a younger Bruce Wayne than audiences have seen previously. The film saw Batman adapting to his second year of crime-fighting in Gotham, as he came up against Dano’s terrifying serial killer, The Riddler. While new elements were certainly implemented to keep The Batman‘s story fresh, a number of the most synonymous features of Batman’s classic story remained. This included his iconic Batcave, which this time around saw Pattinson’s Batman use a disused subway station as his base.
In a recent interview with The Wrap, Chinlund, who served as a production designer on The Batman, offered some exciting insight into how Batman’s new Batcave came to be. When asked about the decision to have Batman turn an old underground train station into his lair, the designer revealed that this idea came to them early on in the film’s development. Chinlund shared how this ultimately played into the themes that surround this new iteration of Batman. Check out Chinlund’s full quote below.
“That was early in the development. And I think Matt and I were both excited about the idea of Bruce as an urban Batman that he was going to be anchored in the center of the city and Wayne Tower. And so following that line, trying to figure out what would it be on, as a New Yorker, I understand the underground of the city and how tight that space is, full of sewer lines and power lines … I had heard this story about the Waldorf Astoria, there’s a train that they keep under the Waldorf Astoria for the President so that in the event of an emergency, he may be whisked out of the city. I always thought that was such a romantic idea. I just followed that line for the Waynes’ thinking that they might have their own private train station, that they could come and go from Wayne Tower without bumping into the hoi polloi on the street. It was just a nice kernel of an idea that led us also follow the line to the elevator and the Shakespeare bust and all those sorts of things.”
The Batcave has become a staple location within Batman’s story, having appeared in its various forms throughout the character’s cinematic history. Pattinson’s Batcave boasts some similarities to other previous Batcaves, such as Christian Bale’s in The Dark Knight trilogy or Ben Affleck’s within the DCEU. However, it is still unique in its use of an abandoned station, rather than the literal cave that is often depicted. The Batcave was featured a handful of times within the film, but with confirmation that The Batman 2 is officially on its way, there is certainly a chance that it could become more of a prominent on-screen location within Pattinson’s Wayne’s story going forward.
Previous iterations of the Batcave have served as somewhat of an extension of Wayne’s character and offered some insight into the mind of this introverted hero, and The Batman‘s Batcave is certainly no different. It’s interesting to hear Chinlund’s inspirations behind this particular variation of the iconic HQ, and how its location was an intentional deviation from prior iterations that was specific to this film’s Wayne family. As it’s likely that Batman will have experienced some considerable progression between The Batman‘s story and that of its upcoming sequel, it will certainly be exciting to see whether the Batcave continues to progress and change with its titular hero, as well.
Source: The Wrap
