The September issue of Empire Magazine features great interviews with Ben Affleck and Zack Snyder, but they also had a chance to talk to Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice production designer Patrick Tatopoulos. Tatopoulos spoke about bringing the Batmobile back to the big screen, being inspired by Christopher Nolan’s Tumbler, and more. Big thanks to Comic Book Movie for transcribing all of the quotes here.
On bringing the Batmobile back to the big screen
“[Truly] an emotional process – it’s about what feels right. I showed Zack and Zack said, ‘Cool.’ Sometimes it just clicks. These films are very grounded. THere will be tons of CG, but also a lot of real stuff – especially with Batman. Of course, building a car from scratch is challenging. The car drives, jumps, pretty much does everything. We got the best people.”
A sexy looking tank
“He is not driving a Formula 1 car, he’s driving a tank that is very sexy looking. Batman is rougher, tougher, and grungier. So everything is rough: the weapons, the suit and the car. There are machine guns mounted on the front. When you first see the Batmobile, it is being fixed. It is not – boom! – coming out of the garage brand new. It is scratched, damaged.”
On being inspired by Christopher Nolan’s Tumbler
“Batmobiles are often designed very low to the ground, something classical. That didn’t feel fully comfortable for us. I thought the Tumbler was a revolutionary design, with the suspension very high up. I wanted to combine the two vehicles. I wanted something of a motorcycle, too: big wheels, suspension, exhausts.”
On bringing it all together
“With The Justice League coming, it influences my designs of the Batcave, the Batmobile, the Batwing. We are creating a world for Batman – every set, every prop, is real. We have to be ready for what’s next.”
SOURCE: Empire Magazine (via Comic Book Movie)
