Arkham Asylum has been destroyed, and all its inmates have been unleashed upon Gotham City. As Batman races to round up some of his greatest enemies, he is pushed to his physical and mental limits and into a final confrontation with a new threat: the man called Bane!
Based on the iconic DC comic book event, Batman: Knightfall – Part 1: Knightfall tells the story of the breaking of the Bat, bringing one of the Dark Knight's most iconic comic book stories to the screen in a brutal, faithful adaptation that embraces the larger-than-life style of the 1990s era in which the story was originally told.
With an R-rating, a formidable Michael Mando as Bane, and Anson Mount taking on a particularly battered and vulnerable version of Batman, the movie doesn't pull its punches.
We caught up with supervising producer Rick Morales to discuss bringing Knightfall to life, including how Mando landed the role of Bane, the decision to lean heavily into Kelley Jones' distinctive artwork, and why this Batman is unlike any we've seen on screen before.
Morales also talks about the benefits of the R-rating, the freedom that comes with telling an Elseworlds story set away from DC Studios' DCU, and what fans can expect from the second and third chapters of this ambitious trilogy. You can read the full interview below.
Like a lot of fans, Michael Mando's Bane stood out to me while watching this movie. So I'd love to know: how did he come to join the film, and what made him right for this interpretation of such an iconic Batman villain?
Well, I mean, you know, I think if I remember correctly, the way it went down is our voice director, Wes Gleason, had blurted his name out at a casting meeting that we were having, and we were sort of talking preliminarily about, you know, who might be right for these roles. He said Michael Mando. And I was originally like, that's curious. What an interesting suggestion. But then I could kind of see it, you know, I could see it in my head. And he just had such an intensity that it felt like, you know, I think this could work. And so it became apparent when we had our first recording session.
He came in and he just really knew the character. He had given it deep thought, you know, and consideration. And he came in with an idea of knowing what he wanted to do, keeping him sort of, you know, for the big villain of the film, sensitive but also really scary. And the thing I liked about working with Michael in particular was he was so invested in it. He just pushed himself, and he gave it his all. And he really thought about, like, what's this character saying here? What am I trying to say? And he had good ideas, and it was sort of like, you know, we got to collaborate in a way that maybe doesn't always happen, but I really appreciated it, and I think it shows.
This is such an iconic storyline, and it's based on one of those sprawling 1990s comic book crossover stories. How much was it of a challenge was it for the team to wrangle that into what essentially will end up being maybe a three- to four-hour movie when all three parts come out?
One thing that I've learned throughout this process is trilogies are tough. It's a lot of material. But as far as leaning into the sort of 90s aesthetic and all of that, like, I think that wasn't a big problem for me. That's my, I think, natural inclination, you know, because of when I was born and what I grew up with and my artistic influences and stuff. Like, all that stuff is ingrained in me. You know, I grew up a fan of Kelley Jones and, you know, artists of that time period, Jim Lee and Todd McFarlane and, you know, all that stuff like that; that's what I came up with. So being able to do a film that leaned into that was like, you know, I don't want to say it was easy, but it kind of was. You know, I didn't have to think too much about it. I knew how I wanted to approach it. And I have artists here working with me that are capable of it.
And, you know, I do think there were probably times when some of the design team was like, what are you doing here? And I was kind of like, you know, just trust me, trust me, this is going to work. It's, you know, we're pushing into this, like, stylistic, you know, 90s feel. And we were pulling from other movies too. You know, like, I've talked about, you know, the other influences outside of comic books, which were like The Crow and City of Lost Children and, you know, those types of films that had, like, a really big style to them. And that's kind of my approach to this: to just embrace it, lean into it, you know, let everybody have muscles and be extreme and crazy in their proportions and try to do sort of a faithful adaptation of Kelley Jones's work.
Anson Mount is so great in this version of Batman, but what would you say to audiences about how this version of Batman differs from the ones they've seen in film before?
I think you're dealing with a Batman here who, when you come into it, has been through a lot. You know, all the stories from the comic books that precede Knightfall have happened to this version of Batman, and he's dealt with the loss of a Robin, you know, at the hands of the Joker, and he's having a rough time of it, you know. And I had in my head, as a backstory, you know, the introduction of Tim Drake and the whole A Lonely Place of Dying story arc, which I think was really important. It's a lead-up to this film, really. You know, so you're dealing with a Batman that isn't trusting his family, is trying to go it alone, is pushing himself too hard, and is basically on the verge of a mental breakdown. And I don't, you know, super vulnerable. And I don't think that that's, you know, necessarily something that we've always seen with Batman.
You've got that iconic "Break the Bat" scene, which is such a huge moment that needs to be right for the fans. Did having an R-rating help in that respect? And how beneficial was the R-rating in telling this story in such a visceral, bloody way?
I think it definitely helps because you're dealing with something so crucial to Batman: his, you know, sort of his mental state and the breaking of the bat through this film. And one of the big lines, you know, of course, that he doesn't cross is that he doesn't kill. Right. But this movie kind of shows you, in instances, how close he is to that line because of how tired he is and how much he's been through. And I thought it was really, really important to hint at Jason Todd's death and how much that affected him and his relationship with Tim Drake and all that. I think the R rating is helpful in that it allows us to be more brutal, you know, and the Batman fight with Bane at the end, of course, has to be very brutal, you know. And I think it is. I mean, even I saw this, you know, as I'm making it. I've seen this movie about a billion times, but even when I watched it down in the final, you know, in the final online after our mix, it's still sort of watching Batman get beat up like that and just sort of the vocal performances that Anson's doing; it just sort of makes you feel uneasy.
Fans have been crying out for more of these DC animated films. It's been a little quiet over the past few years since DC Studios was formed. Has working with the DC Studios team really changed how you approach these movies? Is it now more of a kind of quality-over-quantity thing? Not that there was anything wrong with the previous ones.
No. I mean, to be honest with you, it's a little bit, you know, divorced from... so, you know, I also do Creature Commandos, which is part of the DCU and the James Gunn universe. But this is sort of, you know, it's not part of that. And it wasn't, you know, it wasn't scrutinised in that way. We didn't have to hook up to any of the other films that they were doing or any of those considerations. It's just sort of considered an Elseworlds, a standalone thing. Right. So I think that was sort of, you know, freeing in a way to just kind of be able to do sort of a more literal adaptation of the material.
We know, of course, at least two more of these films are coming. So what can you tease about part two and part three, how those are shaping up and obviously where fans can expect the story to go?
I think I hope, if you're a fan of Jean Paul Valley, that you'll be very happy with the next couple of films. And also, I think one of the things that I'm most excited for is to bring Nightwing into it in a real way. And, you know, one of the things that I always love, because I don't think I have anything shy about saying that, you know, one of my favourite characters in comic books ever is Tim Drake's Robin, especially this particular period. Tim Drake. And I just love their relationship, you know, that sort of older brother, younger brother sort of relationship that they have. So I think that's something we'll get into, and I'm really excited about.
Batman: Knightfall - Part 1 is now available on Digital, 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and DVD.