As with all the previous Batman films, the team behind “The Batman” built a fully functional Batmobile. Production designer James Chinlund spoke with Nerds and Beyond about feeling the pressure to create something worthy of its place in Batman canon, saying, “I wanted to make sure that I didn’t let the fans down.” Ultimately, he produced a suitably beastly vehicle that also conveyed the makeshift, DIY sensibility Matt Reeves was going for. But before he could get to work on fabricating the real car, he had to have some designs to work from.
That part was all up to designer Ash Thorpe. The illustrator and graphic designer was tasked with developing the look of the car prior to its construction and provided an insight into his process in a video breaking down the whole process. In “The Art of The Batman” book, Reeves said he wanted the Batmobile to “feel like a monster emerging from darkness.” But when it came to working with Thorpe, the director actually provided a fairly open brief, highlighting some key words, such as “fear,” “visceral,” and powerful.” Otherwise, it was pretty much up to Thorpe to design what he felt would work.
As the designer explains in his video, he used CGI to mock up some renders which he sent to Reeves for feedback. Interestingly, Thorpe had included a mockup that featured some elements that looked oddly similar to the Tumbler — the tank-inspired Batmobile design from the Dark Knight trilogy. The designs in question depict a car with an exposed front axle and giant tires on either end. One in particular features a pincer-like design on the axel itself, which is very reminiscent of the Tumbler’s front end. And it seems these were all a little too Nolan-esque for Reeves’ liking.