The Dark Knight Rises’ ending is even more important 10 years later

At the end of 2012’s The Dark Knight RisesChristopher Nolan (writer-director) leaves Bruce Wayne, Christian Bale far away from his usual crime-fighting pursuits. He’s seemingly freed himself of the physical and psychological burden of being Batman. Now he can relax, shoot knowing glances at Alfred (Michael Caine) from across a café, and get tipsy around Europe with the Woman Formerly Known As Catwoman (Anne Hathaway). In Gotham City John Blake, a former cop, discovers the Batcave under the Wayne Manor. Blake has spent the entire film being promoted as the closest thing to Batman’s heir apparent, from his revelation that he deduced Bruce Wayne’s secret identity to the end reveal that his legal name is “Robin.” As the credits hit and Hans Zimmer’s score blares, he ascends to take on the mantle.

It’s over. It isn’t paused to the next sequel or spinoff. The credits sequence that sets up a new branch in a franchise are not supposed to wrap it all. Over. After perhaps the biggest ending tease in modern superhero films that doesn’t involve Captain America’s shield, Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight story concludes, with no intentions for a revival or a continuation. In the age of expanded universes and multiplying timelines, that isn’t just rare, it’s purely singular. The Dark Knight Rises This book was released a full decade ago. It marks the final time that a major superhero story has been allowed to conclude.

Batman films always tend to feel like they’re from a different dimension, even though they have deeply influences on the genre around them. The fairy-tale fever dream of Tim Burton’s Batman Returns in 1992 and the toyetic glowstick wonderland of Joel Schumacher’s Batman & Robin in 1997 seem like cases of wild abandon instead of studio blockbusters, especially by comparison with 2000’s fairly subdued X-Men. Nolan’s trilogy is hyper-focused on George W. Bush-era politics. They’re films built around the intricacies and moralities of terrorism and surveillance states, made back when the nascent Marvel Cinematic Universe was focused on relatively uncomplicated Good vs. Mostly Evil fantasy.

Warner Bros.

The Dark Knight RisesThe same summer, it was released as Marvel’s The AvengersAnd with Rises serving as the concrete finale of one story, it’s hard to not see it as a kind of passing of the torch between two series that defined their genre. The AvengersThis marked an important expansion point in the MCU. It ended the Prologue to Phase One and set up a series that would have nearly all subsequent entries deeply connected.

Soon afterward, Zack Snyder’s Man of SteelThis was the beginning of the DC Extended Universe. It included a brand new Batman, who needed to live with Nolan’s comic-book fantasies. The first live-action Batman was able to rub shoulders with heroes beyond Gotham. Expanded universes were created all over the world with different degrees of success. Fast & Furious films to Universal’s abortive Dark Universe series about horror icons. It seemed more odd than its fellow peers in this shift towards films that were primarily intended to be set-up for future movies.

The loose ends weren’t tied down completely, even after other superhero movies ended and their main characters reached some equilibrium. However, even if it seemed like they were tied up again in the next series movie. By the time Fox’s X-Men series was swallowed up in the merger with Disney, it was a messy blend of timelines, spinoffs, and soft reboots. 2017’s LoganHugh Jackman was the actor who, even in its most awkward moments, never left the X-Men franchise.

However, even the ending that was supposedly conclusive was meant as a fresh start. Dafne Keen, who played the film’s young mutant Laura, revealed that the studio had been planning a sequel. With films such as Dark Phoenix, Deadpool 2And New MutantsIt became obvious afterward that Logan was merely a send-off for a character, rather than the series’ grand coda. Now, with rumors of Fox’s X-Men showing up in the MCU’s Multiverse of MadnessWe may be looking forward to more insight into these disorienting realities.

Other series that seemed to end, like the separate Sam Raimi and Marc Webb Spider-Man series that preceded the character’s induction into the MCU, were both meant to continue before behind-the-scenes pressure forced course corrections. Those movies’ dueling Peter Parkers eventually turned up again in Spider-Man has no way home, a film that further illustrates Disney and Marvel Studios’ current assurance that not only are they the main export of superhero dreams in the present, they have your nostalgia on lock, too.

Even pre-Nolan Batmans aren’t safe. Michael Keaton, the star of Tim Burton’s Batman movies, is set to return to the role in the upcoming film The Flash, and will likely replace Ben Affleck as DC’s core Batman. Whatever Schumacher wanted to tell was in Batman & RobinIt was intended to continue in the fifth series (called Batman is victorious Or Batman Unchained(before the project was shut down. There’s also the Batman from 2022’s Batman, a new series we’ve been assured will stay in its own lane and not intermingle with the rest of the Justice League movies. So perhaps the next time we get the last chapter of a superhero story, it’ll be with Batman again.

Warner Bros.

Until then, though, Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy stands alone in permitting its story to wrap up, without plans for brand extensions. While other franchises have operated with a sort of “If they come, we will build it” ethos in regards to sequels, the creative forces behind The Dark Knight RisesFilm is the final chapter of any story. This has been repeated repeatedly. It was the highest grossing film in its trilogy and is usually an indicator of a future sequel. Nolan says that Nolan’s film is open to sequels because of its flexibility. The Dark Knight Rises’ final scene was only open-ended “thematically,” and the story he wanted to tell had a cap on it. If you want the legend of the Dark Knight to continue, you’ll have to imagine it.

Key cast members Rises corroborate that, with Christian Bale affirming that his “services were no longer required” after the film, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt nixing any hope that his “Robin” might go on to lead a spinoff. Thanks to the immense box office and critical success of Nolan’s films, the director gained a considerable creative grip on Warner Bros., one that allowed him to end his series on his own terms. When 2013’s Man of Steel was being planned, and Warner execs floated the idea that it might serve as a nice addition to the Dark Knight’s universe, Zack Snyder hints that Nolan, working as the film’s producer, had the clout to shoot the idea down.

The series’ ending is viewed in context. Dark Knight Rises works. While comic book Bruce Wayne giving up his secret identity is often seen as a cardinal sin that defames what the character represents, the Wayne of Nolan’s trilogy constantly struggles with his superhero role. He’s torn between ensuring Gotham’s safety and the need to live a normal life, and by leading Gotham to believe that he’s sacrificed himself while also putting its welfare in the hands of someone he trusts, he gets to have it both ways. Gotham now has the legendary symbol of Batman to inspire hope, a new Batguy to make sure that people don’t jaywalk or whatever, and Bruce can wake up in the morning knowing that he isn’t gonna get pummeled by dudes in clown masks that day.

In the context of modern franchising, it’s a little jarring. There’s definitely a no-stone-unturned approach to superhero worldbuilding in cinema, one that all but promises that every comic book daydream you’ve had will one day enter the theater. Though we’ve moved on from running through Batman’s rogues gallery in descending A-to-Z list fashion like the ’90s films, the promise of infinite shared universes continuing with no closure in sight means that any plot, any reference, any adaptation should be possible. Robert Downey Jr. was the undisputed headliner of the MCU’s first 10 years, but even the death of Iron Man is now a hiccup in other people’s ever-unfolding adventures.

And yet, 10 years later, there’s no sign that Rises will serve as an unofficial “To be continued…” After a 19-year partnership, a spat with Warner Bros. over its simultaneous theater/streaming release model led Nolan to take his next film to Universal. Christian Bale’s tenure as the Caped Crusader seems tied to Nolan’s presence, and in the meantime, Bale isn’t hurting for gigs. He’s even joined the MCU, set to star in the fourth Thor film, Love and Thunder. Taking part in the colorful series is certainly a far cry from the gossip report that had Bale allegedly promising to “chain himself up somewhere and refuse to go to work” if he had to save Gotham alongside a Robin.

The Dark Knight Rises wasn’t the end of an era — it was something wholly unique, a confluence of storytelling technique and behind-the-scenes sway that gave a director and his team the power they needed to throw in the towel. Before this film, it didn’t matter if a director or star wanted to quit — the studio would just find someone else to put in the role. At this point, studios’ plan may be to never quit. The number of IP rights a company can negotiate or holds, is not a limiting factor in allowing for cross-overs. Cinematic superhero stories are plentiful and will continue to endure. The only exception is the one that ended in darkness.

The Dark Knight ReturnsYou can rent or buy on HBO Max, and it is streamed on HBO Max. Amazon, VuduYou can also visit these other platforms.