Jonathan Nolan Talks THE DARK KNIGHT RISES Ending, 'Robin' And Adapting Another DC Property

So, was what Alfred saw in the closing few minutes of The Dark Knight Rises real? Co-writer Jonathan Nolan discusses how that ending can be interpreted by audiences, addresses the addition of 'Robin' to the franchise and reveals whether he would be interested in tackling another DC Comics adaptation.

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By Josh Wilding - 10/14/2012

Talking to IGN Comics at the New York Comic Con, Jonathan Nolan (brother of Christopher, and co-writer of The Dark Knight Rises) has shared his thoughts on the various interpretations of the way in which the third and final Batman movie ended, comparing it to Memento. He also comments on the addition of both 'Robin' and 'Catwoman' to the franchise, before revealing whether or not he would one day consider being involved in yet another big screen adaptation of one of DC Comics' many properties. Check out the video interview below and be sure to sound off with your thoughts in the usual place!

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126 Comments

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	NerdyGeek - 10/14/2012, 2:07 AM Login to report abuse "Wink at the audience".... It was a pretty big "wink".
	mbembet - 10/14/2012, 2:19 AM Login to report abuse thank you for making one of the greatest trilogy of all time!
	Kevwebsz - 10/14/2012, 2:52 AM Login to report abuse PLEASE let the new Batman movies be an exact copy of the Batman:arkham asylum/city world!!!!!
	GUNSMITH - 10/14/2012, 2:57 AM Login to report abuse I THOUGHT HE'D HAVE AN ACCENT...
	Linta - 10/14/2012, 3:08 AM Login to report abuse i'm in for Batman Beyond movie.
	Nomis1800 - 10/14/2012, 3:41 AM Login to report abuse LOVE the amazing trilogy!!!!!!!!! Can't wait to see TDKR on blu-ray!!!
	rebellion - 10/14/2012, 4:06 AM Login to report abuse @Kevwebsz yep, that would be the best way to go
	UltimaRex - 10/14/2012, 5:11 AM Login to report abuse "I'd love to take another crack at it at some point." MOS 2?
	MediaMan - 10/14/2012, 5:13 AM Login to report abuse What a copout - when you get to the point when your audience doesn't know what the ending of your movie is. If you don't know what your own story is, that's just poor writing. A certain amount of latitude is okay, but not to the point where you don't even know what you're saying yourself.
	reverendjonnynemo - 10/14/2012, 5:24 AM Login to report abuse
	deanwilkins - 10/14/2012, 5:24 AM Login to report abuse Crap movie. Dark Knight was so much better. This one was pretentious. Dumb ending and Bane was pathetic.
	jazzman - 10/14/2012, 5:28 AM Login to report abuse @GUNSMITH he does have a accent an American accent. he was mostly raised in America compare to his brother Chris Nolan.
	Hulk2008 - 10/14/2012, 5:29 AM Login to report abuse @Kevwebsz 100% Agreed! that would be awesome!
	sameoldthing - 10/14/2012, 5:30 AM Login to report abuse No more "reality based" movies using superhero characters. Superheroes possess wild abilities & live in a strange world of outlandish events. Batman has no powers but shares his world & battles many who do..Get as close to the comics as possible. Avengers did & that is why it's a better franchise. WB / DC should follow that path.
	Zordan - 10/14/2012, 5:31 AM Login to report abuse finch and reese :)
	TheBatman50k - 10/14/2012, 5:35 AM Login to report abuse I would love to see the Nolan Brothers tackle either Daredevil OR Green Arrow. I know that would be a pipe dream but I can dream cant I?
	TheBatman50k - 10/14/2012, 5:39 AM Login to report abuse @Mediaman, Even the best of directors like Kubrick didnt completely know what their own films were about and in fact often times more then often critics or audience members would interpret films differently than the directors themselves. Good movies should do that. I mean look at Straw Dogs by Sam Peckinpah that movie has had a million different interpretations.
	RedSkull667 - 10/14/2012, 6:16 AM Login to report abuse Nolan should not touch any other comic book property...he already screwed enough of Batman
	Ha1frican - 10/14/2012, 6:39 AM Login to report abuse The ending ruined the whole film for me....
	DukeAcureds - 10/14/2012, 6:51 AM Login to report abuse What's the ambiguity of Memento? I say do a sequel with JGL as Batman and several orphans from the orphanage joining him as Nightwing, Red Hood, Red Robin and The Spoiler with eventually all of the ophans that are old enough becoming Sons of the Batman, Dark Knight Returns style. We could even have Batwoman, Batgirl and The Huntress in there, somewhere too. Nolan has set things up perfectly for a modern Batman series, based on the comics that we know and love. That's never really been done. Lets not go back to the beginning again and live in the shadow of Batman Begins. We could even do a Batman Incorporated movie, with this franchise. John Blake as a Batman Beyond type Vs. The Mutants and such? Yes sir.
	DukeAcureds - 10/14/2012, 6:52 AM Login to report abuse We'll never have a chance like this again, for a modern version of Batman.
	Keldor - 10/14/2012, 6:56 AM Login to report abuse Thank You For the Greatest Trilogy of all time. (you know, Except for Lord of the Rings, Toy Story, The Original Star Wars, The Evil Dead, Back to the Future, Indiana Jones, The Man with No Name, The Bourne Series, The Godfather, Alien, Die Hard, Spiderman, The Naked Gun, Mad Max, ... of the Dead series, The Ageism/Dream Trilogy (Time Bandits, Brazil, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen)....
	MJPETTY7 - 10/14/2012, 7:17 AM Login to report abuse There's no ambiguity, this is not Inception, it's Batman. He lived, he went off with Selina, Blake became the next Batman, the auto-pilot was fixed. It's as simple as that.
	MJPETTY7 - 10/14/2012, 7:17 AM Login to report abuse Also, Batman Beyond or Batman: Arkham City movies? YES!!!!!
	thewonderer - 10/14/2012, 7:43 AM Login to report abuse People are so ungrateful. Superheroes were a freaking joke in film before Nolans Batman came along. As for the Arkham movie requests, it may be more accurate (if Joker dying is even accurate?), but it sure as hell won't be a better film. Theres no drama, tension, in Arkham. Its just Batman kicking everyones ass. What you want Taken with Batman? And I agree there is no ambiguity in the ending, Johnathan Nolan is simply stating if people think there is, let them keep talking about it. Also Johnathan Nolan is NOT his brother (i.e. he's clearly more comic oriented than Chris) SO STOP characterizing him as such. Nolans Batman is realism and is far above anything Marvels made. Man of Steel will be realism and that looks incredible too. So be quiet
	Durango95 - 10/14/2012, 8:03 AM Login to report abuse @Duke Shut the [frick] up.Nobody would make a shit idea like that into a Batman film. [frick]tard.
	dwaynejohnsonsfromundahcheesepanini - 10/14/2012, 8:09 AM Login to report abuse Superman paved the way and yes it's a little dated(it came out in'78), but still has moments the contemporaries still cannot touch. X-men showed us the group team aspect could be handled back in '00. Nolan brought new audiences with his films and enabled people that did not take comic book movies seriously.., well seriously. Watch more Saturday morning cartoon network if you must, but seriously, the films are done with. You no longer need to campaign against them.., it's gonna' be okay. :P @sameoldthing Yeah we need more films like Batman and Robin, Batman Forever, the Fantastic Four, Daredevil and things like that to make the looming bubble burst. @keldor Already stated in this short thread. She said "one" of the best. Nice try though. :P @the wonderer Agreed. The Iron Man('08) feel and vibe is what Marvel/Disney need to recapture and bring back to their films. It's one of my favourite adaptations and yet I could tear it apart if needed; 95% of all films are flawed. Fans today do not realize how fortunate they truly are when it comes to these comic book movie's.
	CoolantTech - 10/14/2012, 8:09 AM Login to report abuse I just couldn't believe Nolan would go out on such a cliche-ish note! (That is- Batman Carrying the bomb off into the sunset, oh and the underwhelming Robin sequence) Other than that the movie was excellent.
	ThePowerCosmic - 10/14/2012, 8:12 AM Login to report abuse @ TheWonderer You are entitled to your opinion of course, but Marvel's franchise is light years better, and way more groundbreaking. Making a good Batman film is no where comparable to making a good superhero team film. You know why? Because nobody ever had the balls to try it before. And not only was Avengers great...it dominated most other films and trounced all other CBM's. Another reason why Marvel's Franchise is revolutionary is that it is a continuous universe. It won't have to be rebooted, it won't lose continuity and it will always be growing, and it will go on for a very long time, Not just a trilogy. Nobody has done anything like that before. Several directors could make a good Batman film...nobody could pull off a Cinematic Universe like Marvel. I guarantee DC can't do it. When Tim Burton made Batman in 89' the buzz for that film being the ultimate comic movie was much bigger than the buzz for the Nolan series. People claimed nobody would make a better CBM. Now that movie is laughable to the younger generation, and eventually so will the fate of the Nolan series. Marvel's universe will go down in history as starting a new genre of superhero films and for building a universe. You can hate all you want Wonderer, but you can't deny Marvel is doing something far greater than DC, WB or Nolan for comic book film fans. However I know you will deny it.
	DarkGrifter - 10/14/2012, 8:14 AM Login to report abuse @Wonderer "As for the Arkham movie requests, it may be more accurate (if Joker dying is even accurate?), but it sure as hell won't be a better film." You can't possibly know that. Arkham Asylum and City are GAMES. Therefore they will be lacking in drama and tension compared to the Dark Knight trilogy. There is no reason why a Batman movie based on these games (should they happen) couldn't achieve the same level of drama and intensity as Nolan did.
	TheAntiGrif - 10/14/2012, 8:15 AM Login to report abuse Why is Chris English and Johnathan American. Its pretty weird cuz i really see no resemblance now that i think about it. Is he maybe adopted?
	thewonderer - 10/14/2012, 8:19 AM Login to report abuse I can say with 100% certainty too that Iron Man 08 wouldn't be of its quality without Batman Begins
	Lockjaw - 10/14/2012, 8:24 AM Login to report abuse Continue with batman beyond & dark knight returns instead of a reboot & throw in a worlds finest as well = $$$ WB won't though cos they're stoopid
	Lockjaw - 10/14/2012, 8:28 AM Login to report abuse Man of steel batman beyond man of steel 2 worlds finest dark knight returns man of steel 3
	Lockjaw - 10/14/2012, 8:30 AM Login to report abuse Throw in WW , flash and green lantern 2.0 and boom Jla
	thewonderer - 10/14/2012, 8:31 AM Login to report abuse @DarkGrifter So what you're saying is you want the movie to be like Arkham but not be like Arkham? The Arkham games form around his continuity not explained. I don't want a Batman reboot to be an origin story, but I don't want it to be in this completely out of nowhere timespan either. Im not sure how you can add drama and tension to Arkham without destroying its core principles.
	DukeAcureds - 10/14/2012, 8:34 AM Login to report abuse Durango95@ Nobody would make a film based on the way the comics have been for the past 30 years?Sadly, you're probably right.
	dwaynejohnsonsfromundahcheesepanini - 10/14/2012, 8:50 AM Login to report abuse I thought Sandy Collera's Dead End, despite it's crazy but awesome twist, was a great version of Batman on film. Maybe something a little more like that, or Alex Ross's work fused with a more modern aesthetic. Kind of similar to the Arkham games, but not that far into cartoonsville. One of these day's we have to have the black and grey or dark blue and grey Batman.., I'm sure they will give us that.
	MediaMan - 10/14/2012, 8:55 AM Login to report abuse @Batman50k, Sorry, we'll have to agree to disagree. If you don't understand your own story, you can't really tell it well, or the way it should be told. As I said, there is some latitude for interpretation... but the fundamental concept should be in place in the storyteller's mind. IMHO, anyway.
	MediaMan - 10/14/2012, 9:01 AM Login to report abuse @TheWonderer Superheroes were a joke before Nolan? Are you kidding? Spider- Man 2 is an absolute classic. And it didn't have anything like the GARGANTUAN plot holes in the Nolan's Bat-films. And the whole "Nolan realism" stuff is wayyyyy overblown. There's not a city in world history that operated the way Gotham supposedly did. And nothing like the silliness in TDKR would ever happen in reality. You can forget some preposterous group like The League of Shadows causing world depressions over the centuries either. He put a veneer of realism on it, but that's all.
	dwaynejohnsonsfromundahcheesepanini - 10/14/2012, 9:01 AM Login to report abuse One more thing.., so what if they ended the trilogy like the old Adam West Batman Movie: "..anti-shark bat spray Robin!" That scene with the shark does the trick everytime. A subtle nod taken to epic proportions. Sorry, that was a great ending. To each there own I guess. Maybe the film should have began or ended with voiceover narration by Summer Glau. :P TDKR was not the best of the three, but still was: "...top notch, TOP NOTCH!!" Now I'm thinking about Judge Smails(?). Guess I'm off to watch Caddyshack again. :P
	breakUbatman - 10/14/2012, 9:04 AM Login to report abuse Nothing ambiguous about the ending. As for Nolan ruining Batman, yeah right Joel Schumacher did that. I can guarantee you that there is no adaptation that will meet everyone's standards of what it should be. Can you imagine people whining about how James Bond, Jason Bourne, Hannibal Lecter etc have been ruined because they deviated from the books which have far less room for interpretation than 70 something years worth of comics. The Tv Series, video games, movies and cartoons are all 'Batman'. These characters may have started in our precious comics but they are bigger than that now.
	DukeAcureds - 10/14/2012, 9:05 AM Login to report abuse dwaynejohnson@ They did end it like the old Adam West movie: "Some days you just can't get rid of a bomb" And then... Well, we all saw what happened then. Boom. Dead Batman. Or is he? Etc. etc.
	UniBeam11 - 10/14/2012, 9:07 AM Login to report abuse @thewonderer Really? Before batman begins all superhero movies were a joke? Youve gotta be kidding me right? Im pretty sure blade, x-men, spiderman were all greeted with a seriously awesome reception. They were far from being considered a joke. BB didnt come out until 2005 whereas spiderman 2002 x-men 2000 and blade 1997 were all taken seriously and well received by a general audience and the comicbook community. BB was hardly on the general publics radar when it first came out, it didnt get serious recognition until the dark knight came out and many people had no idea it was a sequel. And really? Nolans Batman movies were rooted in realism? And none of Marvels are? Ill gice you, Favreau said that he took a page from nolans BB for his Ironman but juat because IM has a different tone doesnt mean it was unrealistic, it was just as plausible as BB. Is your real life, every day life filled with dark brooding undertones of corruption and crime? Every minute of your realistic life entails a gloomy day where the sewers are run by murderers and thieves and the judicial system is all paid off by corrupt bureaucrats? Come on, stop attaching the word "realistic" to Batman because it was still very much science fiction. Ironman should be characterized as realistic then too because it was all rooted in existing science and then plausibly propelled forward by a technological genius, but just because it wasnt dripping with an annoying serious and exhausting tone it wasnt "realistic". Batman was anything but realistic so lets move away from that finally. Nolan showed us much of the ins and outs that many movies gloss over, showing those details doesnt make it more realistic, it just means Nolan payed attention for the audiences sake. So did favreau, hence us seeing trial runs and failed attempts at stark building his ironman suit. Can we end the [frick]in flame wars already? Theyre all good movies
	Optimus83 - 10/14/2012, 9:08 AM Login to report abuse my suggestions: Dreama Walker as Dr. Harleen Quinzel/Halrey Quinn Nathan Keyes as Dick Grayson/Nightwing
	AmericanPsychoWolf - 10/14/2012, 9:08 AM Login to report abuse This guy should be a director in the future, A Arkham style movie would be awesome as long as they don't copy it word for word. Thank you Jonathan, Chris and Goyer for giving us (The ones who are actually grateful unlike these idiots) a great CBM trilogy for once.
	AmericanPsychoWolf - 10/14/2012, 9:16 AM Login to report abuse @PowerCosmic, sorry but I think the Dark Knight Trilogy is more ground breaking then the MCU. I mean other then Iron Man and The Avengers most of the other films were okay at best. Alot of directors quote Batman Begins and The Dark Knight as inspiration for the tone of their movies. But what The MCu got right is that you can bring heroes from different franchises together to the big screen.
	DukeAcureds - 10/14/2012, 9:20 AM Login to report abuse Optimus83@ They certainly look the part.
	Tony93 - 10/14/2012, 9:20 AM Login to report abuse I loved the second one, not this one.. Glad there's no more now they can make it arkham city style
	DarkGrifter - 10/14/2012, 9:21 AM Login to report abuse @Wonderer “So what you're saying is you want the movie to be like Arkham but not be like Arkham?” That is an incredibly simplistic way of putting it. What I’m trying to explain to you is that the reboot can take many aspects of the Arkham games including the look of Batman, the tone of Gotham City and level of realism it has and how fantastical its villains are and give it a good story with depth and emotion. Just because it is based on the Arkham games doesn’t mean it has to follow the storyline exactly, such a suggestion is ridiculous to say the least. “The Arkham games form around his continuity not explained. I don't want a Batman reboot to be an origin story, but I don't want it to be in this completely out of nowhere timespan either” I have no idea what you’re trying to say here. “how you can add drama and tension to Arkham without destroying its core principles” Now you’re just confusing the “core principles” of video games in general with the “core principles” of the universe the Arkham games are set in. Of course any movie that copies a video game frame by frame will be terrible, but no one is asking for that, what people want to see is a Batman reboot that takes ideas such as how realistic the batman universe is and the overall atmosphere it has. Again, basing the reboot on the Arkham games and giving it a good story will not “destroy” its “core principles”.
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