Batman Writer Finally Settles 13 Year Debate About Christopher Nolan’s Trilogy Ending

Speaking on the Phase Hero podcast, Goyer recalled an early meeting with Nolan about a third film, explaining how it was the final scene that gave them the breakthrough they needed to work out how the movie would play out and led to them agreeing that there was a third story to be told. Goyer said:

“That was intended to be the end. I remember, after ‘The Dark Knight’ came out, he called me up after three months and said, ‘Do you want to have lunch?’ And I realized, ‘Oh, he’s entertaining the idea of talking about another movie.’ I remember sitting at lunch, and the first idea we came up with was that last scene. That was the first idea, and then, we knew we had a movie! Alfred is his proxy father; he’s worried that Bruce sees no way out of this other than suicide by Batman, death by Batman, right? And then he’s at this moment, and he sees this nod, and he realizes Bruce got out. And we thought, ‘Oh! That’s story worth telling!’ I didn’t know what the story would be, but to sort of undo that ending…”

Bruce Wayne Surviving His Time as Batman Was Always the Plan

If there is one thing that used to be certain, it was that the hero did not die. That was true of any major franchise. Yet, as the final act of The Dark Knight Rises played out, it looked like Christopher Nolan had done the unthinkable and killed off Batman. In a way, that turned out to be true, but he did not kill off Bruce Wayne, who, as Goyer clarified, survived his role as the protector of Gotham City to disappear into a new life.

In Nolan’s world, as in several other Batman iterations, Bruce has been driven by the darkness of his past to ignore any thoughts of his own safety in order to protect the people of Gotham from whatever threats come its way. By the time The Dark Knight Rises came around, Goyer and Nolan had made a clear choice that Bruce would not succumb to the darkness and would live on beyond his role as Batman, as the final moments of the movie show. There was no trick, no wishful thinking on the part of Alfred. Bruce survived, and continued to live without the shadow of the bat hanging over his head.

Of course, there is now not one but two new Batmen fighting for Gotham’s survival. Robert Pattinson will continue in the role in Matt Reeves’ The Batman saga, while James Gunn will be casting a new actor for the role of the Caped Crusader in the DCU and The Brave and the Bold. However, for some, Christopher Nolan’s trilogy will stand the test of time as one of the greatest Batman stories ever played out on screen.