Christopher Nolan’sThe Dark Knightis regarded as one of, if not THE greatest superhero films of all time, as it revolutionized the genre. However, the iconic film almost never came to be, as Nolan originally planned to make just oneBatmanfilm.
Following a much grittier take on the character with 2005’sBatman Begins, Nolan’sThe Dark Knightfollowed up with an even darker sequel that would go on to surpass the first film.The Dark Knight racked up numerous awards and nominations – including a Best Supporting Actor win at the 2009 Academy Awards forHeath Ledger’s performance as the Joker– while being met with overwhelmingly positive reviews from both critics and fans.
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In an excerpt from his bookChristopher Nolan: The Iconic Filmmaker and His Work(viaSlashFilm), author Ian Nathan wrote about Nolan’s intentions after makingBatman Begins. “The playing card that Gary Oldman’s stalwart police officer James Gordon reveals in a Ziploc at the end of Batman Begins – the Joker, naturally – was intended as a tingle of anticipation and possibility to send the audience home with, no more than that,” Nathan wrote. “Christopher Nolan had no intention of maintaining a franchise; he had done his superhero bit, bringing Batman back from his decline into camp, and wanted to be away to pursue more personal, original material.”
“This was only a tease, or at best a departing offering to the studio – the enticing question of what a revamped (as far as fans were concerned, a Nolanized) Joker might resemble,” read the book. “‘We wanted to suggest possibilities for how the story would continue,’ he claimed, ‘not because we were going to make a sequel.'” WhileBatman Beginscould’ve worked as a standalone film, teasing a character as popular as the Joker and not following up with another film would’ve been a big mistake (good thing that wasn’t the case).
Also discussed in the book is the idea of creating a more menacing, scary Joker. Ledger’s award-winning performance as the Joker is regarded as the biggest highlight of the film and one of the greatest performances of all time, andThe Dark Knighttrilogy writer David S. Goyernoted that he and Nolan specifically set out to make the character scarier because they felt Jack Nicholson’s version was lacking in that department.
It turns out, their instincts were right, as Ledger’s Joker is just one of the many elements inThe Dark Knightthat was praised. To this day,The Dark Knightis widely regarded as a superhero masterpiece, so fans are thankful Nolan made the sequel after all.
The Dark Knightis available to stream on HBO Max.
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