By the time Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Dark Knight’ opened in theaters in the summer of 2008 the British director was already acclaimed…however, superhero movies would never been the same – in fact the movie looks nothing like the superhero movies being made today.
The highly anticipated sequel to 2005’s ‘Batman Begins’ immediately was controversial for the casting of Heath Ledger as The Joker, reminiscent of the controversy around Jack Nicholson’s casting for the same role 20 years earlier.
Then tragedy struck in January 2008 with Ledger’s untimely passing.
The reason this superhero movie looks nothing like today’s superhero movies is because of the themes that drive the story.
Perception – perception of Batman, The Joker, Harvey Dent, the people of Gotham themselves and perhaps the darkest theme, the fine line between chaos and order.
These themes, which were expertly crafted by Christopher Nolan, his brother Jonathan Nolan, and David Goyer combined with not a single poor performance from Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Gary Oldham, and of course the brilliant Heath Ledger is what sets this one apart…and always will.
Did you know Christopher Nolan has been approached, more than once, to direct a James Bond film?
As of 2023 he has still declined each time.
With a new Bond and a new direction for the franchise right around the corner and Nolan’s new deal with Universal (Worldwide Distributor of Bond films) speculation again has turned to Nolan to take the reins of yet another classic franchise…
Will Christopher Nolan be the next director of Bond?
We will wait and see…
Check out all the seasons of The Latch Key Kids Podcast especially Season One ‘Breaking Bond’ streaming now on Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, Stitcher, Audible, and Apple Podcasts.