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Can Batman be a capable hero without his utility belt? If Chris Nolan had his way, we would’ve found out.

While Nolan was developing Batman Begins, he was looking for ways to deconstruct and modernize the character. As Batman Begins screenwriter David Goyer recalls, this led to some debates about what was essential for the character.

“We would have a lot of debates,” Goyer says during an appearance on the Happy Sad Confused Podcast. “One of the reasons why Chris had me involved is because I was so immersed in the canon. It was like the Lennon and McCartney thing or whatever it was. I was definitely like the poppier of the two of us. We would debate.”

“I remember Chris wondering If we had to have the utility belt. I was aghast. He was like, ‘Does it have to be yellow?’ I said, ‘I think so.’ And he says, ‘Well, what if we dull it down.’ There was a lot of healthy debate back and forth, and I think we arrived at the right place, the right recipe.”

Christian Bale’s Batman would go on to have a utility belt for all three of Nolan’s Batman movies. It didn’t stop the costume from looking good, or the movies from being awesome.