David S. Goyer, the screenwriter behind Batman Begins, recently shared a behind-the-scenes revelation about Christopher Nolan’s advice regarding Ben Affleck’s Batman.
During a special episode of the Happy Sad Confused podcast marking the 20th anniversary of Batman Begins, Goyer opened up about creative decisions and studio concerns during the film’s development.
Reflecting on the 2005 superhero hit, Goyer recalled that Warner Bros. was initially unhappy with his and Nolan’s decision to delay Batman’s costumed appearance until nearly halfway through the film. “They were not happy about that,” Goyer said, noting that Christian Bale remained as Bruce Wayne without donning the iconic suit for almost an hour.
Goyer defended the approach, saying it was a deliberate choice to build a deeper emotional connection between the audience and Bruce Wayne. “No disrespect to the actors who played Bruce Wayne prior to this,” he explained, “but as moviegoers, we were always twiddling our thumbs waiting for the character to get into costume and for the movie to begin. But why is that?”
He continued, “We knew fairly early on that we needed to have the audience fall in love with Bruce Wayne.” Goyer emphasized that this was the reason they created a thrilling action sequence early on that featured Bruce Wayne in full hero mode—before he ever became Batman.
He referenced the memorable escape from the temple and the slide down the icy slope as pivotal moments.
The writer also revealed that Christopher Nolan once advised him to steer clear of the Ben Affleck-led version of Batman. Although Goyer didn’t go into detail, the comment hinted at Nolan’s reservations about the direction of the DCEU’s take on the character.
Following their collaboration on the Dark Knight trilogy, Goyer and Nolan teamed up again with Zack Snyder for Man of Steel, with Goyer writing the screenplay based on a story the duo developed.
Batman Begins, co-written by Nolan and Goyer, marked a bold reimagining of the Caped Crusader and remains one of the most influential superhero films of the 21st century.