"Batman v Superman's" Batmobile feels familiar and different at the same time. With the movie now showing in cinemas, its own take on the Caped Crusader's trusty steed has now been fully unleashed for the audience to appreciate. In an interview, production designer Patrick Tatopoulos puts us on the driver's seat for a closer look at how the latest Batmobile came to be.
A director himself and previously a creature designer and concept artist, Tatopoulos was tapped by "Batman v Superman" director Zack Snyder to help him bring the movie to life. To get Tatopoulos started, Snyder told him to think "'Man of Steel' meets their Batman" instead of the "Dark Knight" meeting "Man of Steel."
With Batman as his favorite superhero, Tatopoulos didn't need to take long to get excited about the project. In fact, 15 minutes after talking to Snyder, he stepped inside a coffee shop and started drawing his idea of the Batmobile right away.
According to him, he had two inspirations: first, he had always wanted to bring back the vehicle to a time when it had a more gothic, classic look, like how Anton Furst, the production designer for the 1989 "Batman" movie, made it; and second, that the Batmobile had to be a car that could be raised and lowered. These inspirations had a hand in defining the proportions of the car, said Tatopoulos.
As for what's inside the Batmobile, it has the requisites needed by the movie, like a missile launcher and all sorts of countermeasure devices. But with the vehicle seeing screentime again in the "Justice League" movies, it appears to have a few more surprises in store.
"I'm excited about what I'm doing on the next phase, because it is another chance to develop the car, but I'm also very conscious. It's a challenge, but it's a really fun one," said Tatopoulos.
"Just watch what you're doing. Don't go in that place where ... you're adding to the car to make it cooler, and it's not."
