Christopher Nolan Almost Didn't Make The Dark Knight
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We all know what an incredible filmmaker Chris Nolan is; and how iconic ‘The Dark Knight’ is.
But a lot of fans don’t know that Nolan had no intention of making "The Dark Knight." "Batman Begins" was meant to be a standalone project, but it changed everything with its dark take on the Caped Crusader.
Nolan had done his bit for the superhero genre and was ready to move on to more personal and original projects.
But here's where the story takes a turn. The concept of "escalation" entered Nolan's mind.
A Ziploc bag held the key—Gary Oldman's Commissioner Gordon hinting at the Joker and setting the stage for chaos and anarchy.
Nolan and writer David S. Goyer were on a mission to make the Joker truly terrifying, a stark departure from the comedic interpretations of the past.
"I liked the [Tim] Burton films, a lot," said Goyer, recalling that director’s fantasias Batman and Batman Returns, "- but the one bone to pick with film, television, anything: I just never felt that the Joker was scary. Chris and I wanted the Joker to be scary."
Not simply scary, but thematically diabolical. He wasn’t so much a character as a catalyst – a dark philosophy for a new kind of Batman movie. ‘The Joker is what I am afraid of more than anything,’ said Nolan.
‘More than any of the villains, these days particularly, when you feel civilization is very thinly lined. I think the Joker represents the id in all of this.'”
Heath Ledger delivered a performance that sent shivers down spines. The Joker wasn't just scary; he was a force of nature, a dark philosophy personified.
Ledger's Joker would go on to become the gold standard for the character.
The Batman trilogy delved into the psyche of a vigilante in a city on the brink of chaos, reshaping the superhero genre.
In the end, Christopher Nolan's unexpected journey gave us "The Dark Knight," a movie that transcends the genre, reminding us that the best things can happen when least expected.
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