Christoper Nolan Answers Whether Dark Knight Rises Was His Last Superhero Movie
Since kicking off his directorial tenure, Christopher Nolan has tried his hand at a variety of genres. Mystery thriller? "Memento." Science fiction epic? "Interstellar." War drama? "Dunkirk." He has truly done almost all there is to do in Hollywood, including superhero movies. Nolan is the mastermind behind the widely-acclaimed Dark Knight trilogy, which concluded in 2012 with "The Dark Knight Rises." Given the persistence of the genre and his consistent success as a filmmaker, is a return to comic book movies sometime in the future on the table for Nolan?
No.
To promote his latest big screen experience, "Oppenheimer," Nolan stopped by for an interview with HugoDécrypte and discussed a range of topics. In addition to talking about the film, artificial intelligence, and more, he addressed what his future looks like in the world of comic book movies. He gave a definitive "No" when asked about directing one more, making it abundantly clear that "The Dark Knight Rises" was truly his last hurrah as a superhero director. Mere moments later, though, he didn't quite rule out making a "Star Wars" film, passing on the question instead of giving a yes or no reply.
With Nolan making no bones about the fact that he's done with superhero movies, it may very well be the case that we'll never see one of his Dark Knight trilogy actors return to their DC Comics character as well.
No Nolan means no comeback for Christian Bale's Batman
Within a very brief span, audiences have seen several different incarnations of Batman reach the silver screen. Robert Pattinson made his debut as the character via director Matt Reeves' "The Batman," while Ben Affleck, Michael Keaton, and George Clooney all played Bruce Wayne in director Andy Muschietti's "The Flash." Naturally, fans have wondered if Christian Bale, who famously portrayed the Dark Knight in the Dark Knight trilogy, would don the cape and cowl once more. While he's not opposed, he does have one big caveat.
"In my mind, it would be something if Chris Nolan ever said to himself, 'You know what, I've got another story to tell.' And if he wished to tell that story with me, I'd be in," Bale explained during an interview with Screen Rant, sharing that the only way he'd play Batman again would be if Christopher Nolan were involved. Now knowing what we do about Nolan's feelings on coming back to the superhero genre, it stands to reason that Bale's time as the legendary DC hero is well and truly over.
Even though he thrived in the superhero world, Christopher Nolan has moved on to bigger and better things.