Batman Begins stated, "Chris Nolan's Batman is the greatest thing that happened [to superhero films] because it bolstered everything." Filmmakers, screenwriters and producers who have mentioned "Batman Begins" or "The Dark Knight" to describe their projects include: Batman Begins Batman Begins is a 2005 superhero film based on the DC Comics character Batman, directed by Christopher Nolan and written by Nolan and David S. Goyer. It stars Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Liam Neeson, Katie Holmes, Gary Oldman, Cillian Murphy, Tom Wilkinson, Rutger Hauer, Ken Watanabe, and Morgan Freeman. The film reboots the "Batman" film series, telling the origin story of Bruce Wayne
2005 Batman Begins 400 pace car for the race, while Batman was the grand marshal, and Karen Newman sang the national anthem. Mark Martin also ran a "Batman Begins" paint scheme, along with Ricky Craven at the Paramount Health Insurance 200 on the previous day. Defending race winner Ryan Newman of Penske Racing won the pole position after breaking the track record with a speed of , breaking the original record held by Dale Earnhardt, Jr. in 2001, while Roush Racing's Greg Biffle won the race. Michigan International Speedway has been a Ford dominated track starting in 1984, and a Mercury track before that