Watch the Batman Begins Cast Record Lines for the Video Game

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When it comes to Batman video games, the Arkham series is considered the gold standard. This is because the games successfully blended everything that makes Batman iconic – thrilling action, clever detective work, and a compelling, dramatic story – into a truly enjoyable experience.

The initial installment of the series, Batman: Arkham Asylum, was released in the summer of 2009, roughly a year after Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight came out in theaters. While not directly based on the movie, the game’s intricate story, mature tone, and thrilling action were designed to attract fans of Nolan’s vision of Batman.

Despite the success of The Dark Knight, Warner Bros. didn’t create a video game based on that film. However, they did make a game inspired by Christopher Nolan’s earlier Batman Begins. Released in the summer of 2005 for consoles like PlayStation 2, Xbox, and GameCube, the game was made with significant input from the film’s creators. Producer Emma Thomas and cinematographer Wally Pfister helped shape the game’s look and feel, and most of the original movie’s actors provided voice work.

Best of all, they filmed the recording sessions

The only major casting change for the Batman Begins game was replacing the actor who played young Commissioner Gordon. Otherwise, the game features the same cast as the movie, including Christian Bale, Katie Holmes, Michael Caine, and many others.

A collection of behind-the-scenes footage from the Batman Begins game was recently uploaded to YouTube, including a featurette called Making the Game – Part 1: The Cast. The video shows the actors recording their lines and talking about what it was like to work on the game. Some fun moments include Tom Wilkinson jokingly boasting about knowing where his computer is located and Michael Caine admitting he’s still learning how to use email.

Michael Caine playfully admitted he found voice acting for a game surprisingly easy, a surprisingly honest statement similar to his famous remark about the poorly received film Jaws the Revenge. He famously said he’d never watched the movie but acknowledged its financial success allowed him to buy a wonderful house.

The best part is that Christian Bale really did record his own lines as Batman, using his famously deep and raspy voice. In a video clip, around the 45-second mark, you can see him in the recording booth saying, “So… tell me about the rabbits.” Someone directing the session then asks if he can sound more intimidating, and the rest is pretty funny – you should just watch it to see what happens!

It’s great that the director wasn’t afraid to cast Christian Bale as Batman, and it’s impressive how Bale fully committed to making the character truly intimidating. He really embraced the darkness of the role, delivering a performance that felt genuinely menacing.

The Batman Begins video game didn’t receive positive reviews like the movie did when it came out in the summer of 2005. Even with a talented voice cast, Eurogamer described it as a promising start that didn’t fully develop, while IGN simply called it “Batman for dummies.” Warner Bros. initially planned a sequel based on The Dark Knight, but they canceled it due to the lukewarm response to Batman Begins.

Instead, they shifted their focus to the Arkham series, which became renowned as one of the best superhero video game franchises ever made. However, Arkham Asylum doesn’t include Batman dramatically asking, “Tell me about the rabbits!” In fact, that scene doesn’t exist in the game.

The Biggest DC Movie Bombs

1. Black Adam

The movie had a reported budget of $260 million and grossed $393 million at the box office. While nearly $400 million in revenue might seem good, the $260 million figure doesn’t include Warner Bros.’ substantial marketing costs, which can easily reach hundreds of millions for major films. Industry publications disagreed on how much money the film actually lost or earned, with estimates ranging from a $100 million loss to a $50 million profit. However, despite the varying numbers, it’s clear that Black Adam didn’t perform well enough to justify the sequel hinted at in the post-credits scene.

2. The Flash

With a budget of $300 million, The Flash earned $268 million at the box office. Like Black Adam before it, the film failed to deliver a return on its investment. Despite featuring numerous cameos from past DC projects and being intended to launch the new DC Universe, The Flash ultimately stalled any chance of becoming a successful franchise.

3. Green Lantern

Let’s talk about Green Lantern. For over a decade now, this movie has become a poster child for box office bombs. It’s gotten to the point where even its lead actor, Ryan Reynolds, is making fun of it in his Deadpool films – and honestly, that tells you everything you need to know. With a reported budget of $200 million, it only grossed $220 million worldwide, cementing its place as a major disappointment.

4. Shazam! Fury of the Gods

With a reported budget of $125 million, Fury of the Gods earned $133 million at the box office. This is significantly less than the original Shazam! film, despite having a higher production cost. Because of these results, it’s unlikely Shazam will appear in the upcoming DC Universe overseen by James Gunn and Peter Safran.

5. Catwoman

The movie had a budget of $100 million but only earned $82 million at the box office. Instead of continuing the story of Michelle Pfeiffer’s Catwoman from Batman Returns, Warner Bros. created a new, unrelated film with a different actress, Halle Berry, as a new Catwoman. Unfortunately, the movie was a critical and commercial failure.

6. Supergirl

With a budget of $35 million, the 1984 film Supergirl earned only $14 million at the box office. While the Superman movies of the late 1970s and early 1980s were groundbreaking for comic book adaptations, the franchise’s success didn’t last. Supergirl signaled a downturn and didn’t receive a sequel or further film appearances until 2023’s The Flash.

7. Jonah Hex

The movie cost $47 million to make but only earned $11 million at the box office. Its production was famously troubled, starting with the original directors leaving before filming even began. The replacement director was then replaced, leading to massive reshoots. Actor Josh Brolin later revealed they had to film 66 pages of script in under two weeks, which is remarkable considering the final movie was only about 80 minutes long.

8. Batman: Mask of the Phantasm

The film Batman: Mask of the Phantasm had a reported budget of $6 million and earned $5.6 million at the box office. This highlights that a movie’s financial success doesn’t always reflect its quality. Many Batman fans consider it one of the best Batman films (ranked #2 by ScreenCrush), despite earning significantly less than less impressive DC movies. It’s believed Warner Bros. unexpectedly released the film in theaters after initially planning a home video release, and it was also seen as a TV series episode available for free viewing multiple times a week.

9. Steel

With a budget of $16 million, the superhero film Steel, starring Shaquille O’Neal, only earned $1.7 million at the box office. Considering its cost, this was a significant failure. When combined with the poor performance of Batman & Robin in the same year, 1997 is often considered a low point for superhero movies.

10. The Return of Swamp Thing

The film had a budget of $3 million and earned $274,928 at the box office. It took seven years to make a sequel to Wes Craven’s Swamp Thing, but the new film, Return of Swamp Thing, was a campy, low-quality production compared to the original. It earned less than a quarter of a million dollars. While Swamp Thing has appeared in several TV series since then, he hasn’t returned to the big screen.

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2026-02-18 19:57