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Christopher Nolan is undoubtedly one of the greatest modern filmmakers. FromMementotoTenetand more, the director has left a sustaining mark on the film industry. While a lot of his films are known and appreciated globally, it can’t be denied that theDark Knighttrilogy is the most famous of them all. However, not many of Nolan’s fans know that the director had a great deal of difficulty makingThe Dark Knight Risesand had to completely change genres for it.
Christopher Nolan AndThe Dark Knight Rises
In film critic Tom Shone’s bookThe Nolan Variations,Christopher Nolanexpressed his thoughts on trilogies and described how he had trouble making the third film of theDark Knighttrilogy. The acclaimed director said:
“There are no good third sequels, basically. Rocky III maybe. But they are very difficult. So my instinct was to change genres. The first one is an origin story. The second one is a crime drama very much like Heat, and the third one, we needed to blow up bigger, because you’re able to’t scale down. The audience doesn’t give you any choice, but nor can you go back and do what you did before. So you’ve got to shift genres. We went for the historical epic, the disaster film, The Towering Inferno meets Doctor Zhivago.”
Read More:“There’s no way you can do this”: Christopher Nolan Refused Henry Cavill’s Most Controversial Scene in $668M Man of Steel to Protect Christian Bale’s Legacy
TheRockyfranchise is also one of the most highly regarded movie franchises of all time.Rocky 3closes off the trilogy of boxing movies brilliantly by giving the titular lead played by Sylvester Stallone an amazing antagonist in James Lang, a young and angry boxer who is hungry to win. To ultimately defeat Lang, Rocky has to realize who he has become and change strategies while teaming up with old foes like Apollo Creed.
One can find echoes of the same themes and even plot beats inThe Dark Knight Risesas well. In a Variety interview, Nolan admitted that he was inspired by theJames Bondfilms as well while making theDark Knighttrilogy. Apart from this, he also elaborated on his love for Batman in the interview.
Read More:“You want to give the audience something different”: Christopher Nolan Explains Why He Cast Harry Styles in $527M Blockbuster Despite Initial Backlash
Christopher Nolan Related To Batman
In a Variety interview, Christopher Nolan said that he changed genres for each film in theDark Knighttrilogy because he wanted to explore Bruce Wayne in various ways. He said:
“We hadn’t planned on doing a sequel. So shifting genres and the nature of the antagonist felt the way to take the audience on a journey and tell them something different about Bruce Wayne.”
Read More:“I thought it was a mistake”: Christopher Nolan Became Afraid of Heath Ledger Despite Choosing Him for $1B Movie Against Fans’ Demands
As forBatmanhimself, Nolan explained that he relates to the vigilante because he doesn’t have superpowers and the character often deals with grounded emotions. He said:
“Yes, it’s a superhero, but it’s based on ideas of guilt, fear, these strong impulses that the character has. Bruce Wayne doesn’t have any superpowers other than extraordinary wealth. But really, he’s just someone who does a lot of push-ups. In that sense, he’s very relatable and human. I think that’s why I gravitated towards it.”
It looks like the director’s days of directing actors in superhero suits are over and in fact, it has been over for more than a decade now. Right now, Nolan is gearing up to presentOppenheimerto audiences.
Oppenheimerwill be released on 15 June 2025, theDark Knighttrilogy is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.
Source:The Nolan VariationsandVariety
Ishita Chatterjee
Content Writer
Articles Published :751
Ishita is an Entertainment Writer at FandomWire, majorly focusing on TV shows, with over 700 articles published. She has been working in the entertainment and pop-culture niche for more than 4 years. With a English Literature degree, Ishita generally covers news and analyses on Foundation, Ted Lasso, Severance, and more.A lifelong DC fan, Ishita spends her time watching and re-watching everything in the DC universe (yes, even including the Arrowverse shows).
