The LEGO Batman Movie: 38 mind-blowing facts about the movie!

The Lego Batman Movie is a 2017 3D computer-animated superhero comedy film, directed by Chris McKay, written by Seth Grahame-Smith, Chris McKenna, Erik Sommers, Jared Stern and John Whittington, with Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, the writers and directors of The Lego Movie, serving as its producers.

1. Morgan Freeman, who appeared in the Dark Knight trilogy and The Lego Movie (2014), said that “The Lego Movie’s” “Batman” is his favorite incarnation of the character.
2. Batman’s line in the beginning action scene, “You want to get nuts? Let’s get nuts!” is a reference to the 1989 Batman movie where Michael Keaton’s Bruce Wayne says this line to the Joker.
3. Billy Dee Williams voices the nefarious Two-Face in this movie. Williams had previously portrayed Two-Face’s “good” alter ego, Harvey Dent, in Tim Burton’s Batman (1989). He was very eager to also portray Two-Face but did not get the chance to, due to Joel Schumacher taking over the franchise with Batman Forever (1995) and recasting the role with Tommy Lee Jones.
4. The week of the film’s theatrical release, The CW network aired commercials featuring Lego versions of Arrow, The Flash and Supergirl, voiced by Stephen Amell, Grant Gustin and Melissa Benoist, respectively.
5. Batman’s crazy laugh is actually voiced by the director, Chris McKay. It was originally a placeholder before Will Arnett’s laugh was to be put in, but never ended up being changed.
6. In early casting, Guillermo del Toro and Steve Buscemi were the front runners for voicing Bane and The Joker, respectively.
7. The airplane at the beginning of the movie is under the name McGuffin Airlines. “McGuffin” is the cinematic/literary name given to an object or person which is of vital importance to the characters but whose actual function is immaterial to the plot.
8. While most of the villains are based on their comic book appearances, some resemble their live action movie counterparts. The Penguin resembles Danny DeVito from Batman Returns (1992), Poison Ivy resembles Uma Thurman from Batman and Robin (1997), Bane wears a brown and white parka, a staple of Tom Hardy’s portrayal in The Dark Knight Rises (2012) and Two-Face resembles Billy Dee Williams from Batman (1989), as well as being voiced by him.
9. Ralph Fiennes is the third Academy Award-nominated British actor to play the character Alfred Pennyworth. The others are Michael Caine in the Dark Knight trilogy and Jeremy Irons in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016).
10. LEGO Bane’s voice and accent is based on Tom Hardy’s portrayal of Bane in The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
11. The trailers for the film feature different variants of the Bat Suit. One of these variants is labeled “2011 Comic-Con Exclusive.” This suit is a mini-figure that was given out in raffles at New York Comic-Con and San Diego Comic-Con in 2011 to coincide with Lego re-launching the Superheroes theme. The mini-figure is based off of Christian Bale’s suit from The Dark Knight (2008) and The Dark Knight Rises (2012). Another recognizable suit that is visible is Terry McGinnis’s suit from the animated cartoon Batman Beyond (1999).
12. Villains in the Phantom Zone include King Kong, Lord Voldemort, The Kraken and Medusa (from Clash of the Titans (1981)), Gremlins, The Wicked Witch of the West and Flying Monkeys (from The Wizard of Oz (1939)), Daleks (from Doctor Who), Velociraptors and the Tyrannosaurus Rex (from Jurassic Park (1993)), Sauron (from the Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001-2003)), Agent Smith (from The Matrix (1999)), The Shark (from Jaws (1975)), Lord Vampyre, The Mummy and the Swamp Creature (from Lego Monster Fighters), and the Skeleton Warriors (from Jason and the Argonauts (1963)).
13. Eddie Izzard voices Lord Voldemort from the Harry Potter franchise as a cameo. Either coincidentally or not, Ralph Fiennes, who portrays Alfred in this movie, is most known for playing Voldemort.
14. In the teaser trailer, Alfred refers to Batman going through “similar phases” in 2016, 2012, 2008, 2005, 1997, 1995, 1992, 1989, and a “weird one” in 1966. This is a clear reference to every year in which a major Batman film was released. The films in question are, respectively, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), The Dark Knight Rises (2012), The Dark Knight (2008), Batman Begins (2005), Batman & Robin (1997), Batman Forever (1995), Batman Returns (1992), Batman (1989), and Batman: The Movie (1966).
15. The villains from Batman’s Rogues Gallery that appear in the film include: The Joker, Harley Quinn, The Riddler, The Scarecrow, Bane, Two-Face, Catwoman, Clayface, Poison Ivy, Mr. Freeze, The Penguin, Killer Croc, Man-Bat, Crazy Quilt, Eraser, Polka-Dot Man, Mime, Tarantula, King Tut, Orca, Killer Moth, March Harriet, Zodiac Master, Gentlemen Ghost, Clock King, Calendar Man, Kite Man, Catman, Zebra-Man, Condiment King, Captain Boomerang, Hugo Strange, Red Hood, the Kabuki Twins, The Calculator, Dr. Phosphorous, Magpie and Egghead.
16. This is Rosario Dawson’s fourth DC animated movie. She voiced for Wonder Woman (2009), Justice League: Throne of Atlantis (2015), and Justice League vs. Teen Titans (2016).
17. Richard Cheese can be seen in Lego form performing “Man in the Mirror” at the Gotham Winter Gala.
18. The Super Friends members Apache Chief, Black Vulcan, The Wonder Twins, Wonder Dog, El Dorado and Samurai made an appearance in the film.
19. Will Arnett revealed in an interview about how voicing Batman affected his voice “It’s real Gravelly, it doesn’t feel great doing it a lot. And so when we do the sessions that are like 4 hours long it would hurt it’s hard to sing doing it because I’m a bad singer anyway, so I’m thinking about trying to keep in time and then doing the voice, the Rap at the end of the movie was hard [ I told the song writers] this is how it’s going to be I can’t do it any better. and then all the things they call ‘exertions’ like running, jumping, you have to do all those kind of separately and sort of shouting stuff too, to shout doing the Batman voice is rough”
20. The Flash appeared in The Lego Movie (2014) but had no lines. In this film, however, he does. His voice actor is Adam Devine.
21. One of Zach Galifianakis’ lines, “Probably worth a Google,” is a nod to his character, Marty Huggins, who said the same line in The Campaign (2012).
22. The French footballer Antoine Griezmann lent his voice as Superman for the French version.
23. The film includes appearances of not only Batman’s “rogues gallery” of recognizable villains, but also many lesser-known faces such as Orca, Dr. Phosphorus, and the Mutant Leader from Batman: The Dark Knight Returns – Part 1 (2012). Also included were some of the most obscure and campy enemies Batman has ever faced, including The Eraser (a pencil-themed villain), The Polka Dot Man, Crazy Quilt, Kite Man and King Tut, a pharaoh villain from the 1966 Batman TV series.
24. At 46, Will Arnett is the second oldest actor to play Batman after Kevin Conroy and in this case, voice actor.
25. Zach Galifianakis stated in an interview about voicing the Joker, “It was really fun! I’ve only done a couple of sessions, it’s crazy; I’m lucky. I was telling diarrhea jokes in coffee houses ten years ago, so I’m very fortunate.”
26. When Batman arrives at The Fortress of Solitude and presses the doorbell, the sound is the main theme of Superman (1978) composed by John Williams.
27. Billy Dee Williams also reprised one of his previous roles in his appearance in The Lego Movie (2014), playing Lando Calrissian from Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980).
28. This is director Chris McKay’s first theatrically released film.
29. This is the first theatrical LEGO movie not to feature any of the figures in the iconic yellow skin.
30. Director Chris McKay originally wanted to include a number of villains from R-rated films among the Phantom Zone prisoners, but he was forced to drop as it was deemed too inappropriate for an all-ages movie to include them. Some of said dropped villains McKay wanted included Bill (from Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003) ), Annie Wilkes (from Misery (1990) ), Bill “The Butcher” Cutting (from Gangs of New York (2002) ), and HAL 9000 (from 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) ).
31. One of the villains seen from the Phantom Zone are the Daleks from Doctor Who, in the television series Gotham (2014). Alfred J. Pennyworth is portrayed by Sean Pertwee, the son of the third Doctor, Jon Pertwee.
32. This film is a spin-off of The Lego Movie (2014).
33. Mindy Kaling was considered for the voice of Harley Quinn in this film.
34. Originally, Barbara Gordon’s character followed much closer to her comic incarnation, in that she was going to be a librarian who was secretly taking part in vigilantism before crossing paths with Batman. At one stage in this version of the character, Barbara’s vigilante persona carries a copy of the Scarlett Pimpernel novel on her being.
35. This incarnation of Barbara Gordon/Batgirl is Latin American. However, her depiction of the costume is based on Yvonne Craig, who performed the role in the third season of Batman (1966).
36. In the movie, the character Sauron, originally from The Lord of the Rings, is played by Jemaine Clement. Clement is a singer/comedian/actor from New Zealand, which is where the Lord of the Rings movies were filmed. Also, he is one half of the New Zealand folk comedy duo Flight of the Conchords. His partner, Bret McKenzie, had a small role in the first Lord of the Rings film, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001).
37. Michael Cera and Zach Galifianakis also both starred in Youth in Revolt (2009).