Batman Begins is a 2005 British-American epic superhero film based on the fictional DC Comics character Batman, co-written and directed by Christopher Nolan and starring Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Liam Neeson, Katie Holmes, Cillian Murphy, Tom Wilkinson, Rutger Hauer, Ken Watanabe, and Morgan Freeman. The film reboots the Batman film series, telling the origin story of the title character (Bale), from his alter ego Bruce Wayne's initial fear of bats, the death of his parents, his journey to become Batman, and his fight to stop Ra's al Ghul (Neeson) and the Scarecrow (Murphy) from plunging Gotham City into chaos. It draws inspiration from classic comic book storylines such as The Man Who Falls, Batman: Year One, and Batman: The Long Halloween.