July 3, 2012

Predicting The End

by Chris Flowers

It’s impossible to predict what, exactly, will happen in any given movie, but the speculation surrounding the release of The Dark Knight Rises has been nothing short of legendary.  A quick Google search will net you a plethora of blogs (and more credible sites) where people act as fortune tellers, laying out—in amazing detail—what they think will transpire on July 20.  It’s a fun game to play, and I’ve got a few ideas of my own.  As the release date of the most anticipated movie of the summer gets closer, I thought I’d throw my hat in the ring with my thoughts on what’s going to happen during Nolan’s last take on the Batman character.

WARNING: The information contained in this article could or could not be spoiler-ific.  Like everyone else, I don’t know what’s going to happen, but if you want to go into the movie with no preconceived notions it may be best to click away.

Batman—in One Form or Another—Will be Finished

All advertisements for the movie suggest that this is the final movie in what’s been lauded as the greatest superhero series ever made.  In fact, one official tagline is “The Legend Ends.”  Dialogue from the many trailers already released also suggests that Bruce Wayne/Batman is prepared to offer the ultimate sacrifice for the always ailing Gotham City.  We’re supposed to assume that this is his life, but I’m not so sure.  As a writer, the notion that Wayne may simply sacrifice the symbol of Batman—as was done in the previous movie—is something that’s much more meaningful, and, in my mind, much less dramatic.  In other words, Bruce Wayne might live on, and the character of Batman might be eliminated.  The presence of young talents Gordon-Levitt and Hathaway also indicates that one (or both) may be waiting in the wings (pun intended) to take over the central superhero role.

I can’t put it past Nolan to actually kill Bruce Wayne, though, and I think either conclusion will be brimming with plenty of emotional heft.  One way or another, though, I think it’s safe to say that this is the last we’ll see of Batman (at least in the Nolan iteration).

Gordon-Levitt Takes on the Superhero Mantle

At this point, not much is known about the role Joseph Gordon-Levitt will play in the film.  For many, intuition suggests that he will likely become the one to “carry the torch” when the Batman legend—as the teaser posters indicate—is finally over.  I’m not intimately familiar with the comic source material the movies are based on, so I don’t know which specific character Gordon-Levitt may assume the identity of when it’s all said and done.  When I review the cast list displayed at IMDB.com, I can’t help but notice the presence of several Al Ghul characters, and part of me wants to believe that Gordon-Levitt may also have been a pupil of the League of Shadows—one who share’s Bruce’s sympathetic mentality that people can be saved.

Alfred’s a Goner

This may be a bold call on my part, but I think Alfred is going to perish in the final moments of the film.  He’s certainly not an action centerpiece in the series, but his declaration that he won’t lose another member of the Wayne family on his watch leads me to believe that he’s going to do something rash in an effort to protect Bruce.  If that’s the case, that’s all well and good, I just hope it doesn’t result in some sort of cheesy and implausible sequence that sees him operating a piece of elaborate Bat-machinery.  I don’t think Nolan would resort to something like that, but you never know.  Heck, he may even join forces with Lucius Fox and we’ll get something similar to The Bucket List.

Catwoman’s Shifting Motives

Something tells me that Catwoman (Hathaway) is going to be bad, then good, then bad again.  I’ve never been a big fan of the “shifting motives” technique, but maybe Nolan can pull it off in such a way as to make her a likable anti-hero.  Clearly, she joins up with Batman at one point in the movie—see the trailer sequence where they’re both flying the Tumbler-like Batwing—but the darkness of character could make her a tricky proposition.

We’ll Find Out Soon Enough

Some of my predictions are more bold (and specific) than others, but I’m simply going on intuition.  What do you think?  Have I gotten it right?  Or am I way off the mark?  Do you have your own predictions?

Let me know in the comments below!