Where does the Batman get his wonderful toys? When it comes to Robert Pattinson’s Dark Knight, credit goes to Glyn Dillon and David Crossman, who designed the tricked-out Batsuit seen in this year’s blockbuster franchise reboot, The Batman, directed by Matt Reeves. And now you can get a closer look at the duo’s work with Yahoo Entertainment’s exclusive augmented reality experience, which lets you put Batman’s crimefighting costume — as well as the proto-Castsuit worn by future Catwoman, Selina Kyle (Zoë Kravitz) — in your own personal Batcave.
Explore the Batsuit and Catsuit in 3D and learn fun behind the scenes facts from The Batman
Pattinson is one of the youngest actors to play Batman on the big screen, and Reeves decided early on that the story for The Batman would take place when Bruce Wayne is still at the beginning of his career as an after hours vigilante. As The Batman‘s production designer, James Chinlund, recently told Yahoo Entertainment, one of the director’s guiding principals was that all of Batman’s tech should have a homemade feel.
“For us, it was the idea that Bruce was building everything himself — that you could feel his hand in everything,” explains Chinlund, who designed the new Batmobile seen in the film. “He wasn’t leaning into the military industrial complex to get things done. It was just one man, one mission.”
Speaking with Esquire UK earlier this year, Dillon indicated that was the approach to the Batsuit as well. “Matt explained that it was supposed to be the second year of Batman, and he wanted it to feel like it was a used costume, moving away from that much more stylized, shiny kind of thing,” he remarked. “Dave and I both had issues with the stiff rubber necks of the previous Batsuits. We wanted something that you would actually be able to fight in.”
In a separate interview with the Motion Picture Association’s website, The Credits, Crossman pointed out how all of Batman’s gadgets — from his grappling gun to his Batarang — would have a functional purpose in the suit. “Everything had a purpose and nothing was wasted,” he explains. “We tried to apply that to every item on the Batsuit with nothing to spare.” For example, the Bat-shaped chest emblem isn’t just decorative: it’s been sharpened on the ends to function as a knife in close-quarters combat.
Oh, and by the way, don’t adjust the color settings on your device: even though he’s nicknamed the Dark Knight, this Batsuit has a silver sheen for a reason. “We call it the Darth Vader effect,” says Crossman, referring to the iconic Star Wars villain. “The face of Darth Vader is actually silver but it reads as black. We deliberately did a gray suit and mixed different levels of blacks so it doesn’t get lost on screen.”
Enough about the Bat — how about the Cat? Since she hasn’t officially embarked on her lucrative career as a cat burglar when The Batman begins, Selina’s own vigilante outfit also has a handmade vibe. Costume designer Jacqueline Durran oversaw the character’s new look, which Kravitz has called “so cool” in interviews. In place of the sleek leather ensemble made famous by Michelle Pfeiffer in Batman Returns, this Selina wears a more rugged costume that could be called motorbike chic.
By the way, be sure to note the subtle cat ears on her hood — that’s a sign of the feline fun to come in the just-announced sequel to The Batman. While it hasn’t been revealed whether Kravitz will be returning alongside Pattinson, it’s hard to imagine that these two won’t be prowling each other for many movies to come.
The Batman is available to own on 4K Ultra HD and Digital Now and is also streaming on HBO Max
