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IGN caught up with The Dark Knight Rises writer Jonathan Nolan to talk about the movie's ending. While I feel that the ending was clear and not open to interpretation like Inception, some fans are still debating about exactly what happened. IGN asked Nolan to clarify... check out his response in the video above.
SOURCE: IGN
This is an archive of Batman-News.com from 2010 to 2025. For the latest news, check out BatmanNews.com
Who are you? You're the writer ! Lol , but I think still think it's cool for him to say that, didn't realize there were people saying Alfred imagined it, I don't share that theory, but it's cool that other people think that, it makes that movie even more interesting.
Jonathan Nolan is so well-spoken and humble. I wouldn't be surprised if he followed his brother's footsteps at being a director some day.
Joseph Gordon Levitt did confirm that Batman is alive on Letterman. I think Jonah Nolan wasn't aware of that taping and didn't want to reveal anything on his behalf maybe because by saying that TDKR has an open ending would stir more interest in the film.
Batman is alive. Blake becomes a Nolanverse Robin that will motivate citizens to become their own hero, just like how Bruce Wayne stated earlier in the film- Just like how Batman inspired Gotham City and The Sons of Batman in The Dark Knight Returns.
Not true. An actor says something, or the guy who co-wrote it? According to your theory, Michael Cain is right when he said that the ending to Inception is real, because he isn't in any dream sequences in the film. He himself said that. And the guy who, oh I don't know, wrote the actual film and paid the man to be in it said the ending is up to you. Hmm....who to listen to?
It is true. As much respect as I have for Jonathan Nolan, Bruce Wayne did survive and he knows it. I think Jonathan Nolan gave that answer because it's the safe one. It was polite and like others said, it keeps discussion going about the movie. Reality vs dream has never been a theme in the Nolan's Batman...why on Earth would they start in the last 10 seconds of the trilogy??? It's very logical, Batman ejected from the Bat and is now living a happy life with Selina Kyle. Don't try to trick yourself.
If your going to claim a movies ending has ambiguity in my opinion you have to earn that right from the start of the story Inception and Memento earned their ambiguity as dreams and memory are by their nature unreliable testimonies and open to interpritation but for Nolan jr to claim ambiguity in The Dark Knight trilogy is just pure B.S and if true was never earned or deserved and if he realy is going to open up this pandoras box what next ? how about Bruce is still climbing up that mountain getting high on blue flowers and he just imagined being Batman ! See we're I am going with this don't open this box wich you haven't earned or prepared us for and diminish your excellent work , the ending is clear cut Bruce ejected and survived Why ? Because true to his 50 year character he is smart and plans a head not because Alfred clicked his ruby sleepers together three times and wished Bruce back to Kansas , so please team Nolan stop pretending there is an ambitious mind melting deep seated meaning for the ending you chose when you know there is not one
Beautifully stated. I believe Jonathan really knows that Bruce Wayne survived, but if he really truly believes that it's open ended then it's a shame. You can't just throw random ambiguity at the wall to see if it sticks in a movie that was never ambiguous in the first place.
Perfeito, amigo! Perfect.
Obrigado amigo = )
Also keep in mind that if the film had a no doubt whatsoever obvious ending (akin to asking if Iron Man died in the Avengers) he wouldn't have denied that it was fact. So you people are wrong :).
He didn't deny it. He didn't answer it so the debate keeps going and people keep discussing his movie. It was a business answer.
Jonathan is so more American than Chris, but still as modest.
I'm not really sure why people feel there is ambiguity about Inception's ending. He made it back to his kids and the real world in the end. The spinning top starts to topple for a second before the credits cut. But either way, the significance of the ending was never about whether Cob was still in a dream or in the real world. It's all about him changing, letting go and finding peace. Throughout the entire movie he's ready to kill himself if the spinning top keeps spinning, he's obsessed with idea of reality versus dream, and paranoid about being trapped in a dream world again. Yet, at the end of the movie, for the first time he just doesn't care. He just wants to be with his kids again. He doesn't even wait for the spinning top to topple.
Nolan himself endorsed the explanation given above, and basically made it clear that Cobb reached his kids again. Brilliant movie, very fitting ending with a great message about the dangers of obsession.
As for The Dark Knight Rises, while I like multiple interpretations, I think it's strange that people feel it's ambiguous. The ending was as clear as day. Gordon saw the repaired Bat Symbol, Fox discovered that Bruce had repaired the Autopilot, and John Blake was left the Bat Cave - they all were given a sign that Bruce was alive and survived the explosion. Similarly to The Dark Knight Returns (the comic), Bruce faked his death. Alfred did not imagine it. Bruce hangs up his cape and cowl. Batman died, Bruce rediscovered life. He finally starts to live. But Batman as a symbol will live on through John Blake, and be proof to the people that Batman is everlasting.
It's an amazing end and a completely different take on the gritty reality of the comic book.
I agree with your interpretation 100%. I do feel that it is about time for people like Chirstopher Nolan, Jonathon Nolan, and whoever else that is capable of giving a straight answer to start giving straight answers about the ending of the movie. Unfortunately not everyone is as capable of figuring out endings to movies, even though I believe this one is pretty cut and dry. As long as they keep giving answers like this one in the interview, people will keep thinking that there might be more to the movie's ending than there really is. About the only straight answer that Jonathon Nolan gave in this interview is that he would like to be involved in comic book movies again.
I actually think the ending was pretty clear with the title of the movie being brought to life in that last scene when we see "Robin" rising on one of the batcave moving platforms, meaning Batman could be anyone. The Dark Knight Rises, got it? It was pretty clear, in my opinion... Just advancing and interpretation, thats all.
Nolans got to do Black Adam with the Rock......
He kinda reminds me of Bill Paxton.
Ambiguity? There is no ambiguity! The ending is very clear for me. People are full of shit! LOL
I agree, there's is no ambiguity. The moment people first saw it they over-analyzed it and compared it to inception. We are watching a Batman movie and it's very straightforward that Bruce is alive.
well that's cute you think so, but the people who, oh i don't know, MADE THE FILM says it's up to the viewer. You lose ;)
Jonathan Nolan is the only one, so far, that has said what you claim the makers of the film said. Even Joseph Gordon-Levitt said that yes, Bruce Wayne gets out alive before the bomb goes off. It is a straight forward ending, and it is wrong for brother Nolan to not give straight answers when asked these questions.
One thing that I would like to know though, is, if Bruce did in fact
survive, how is it possible that he’s having lunch with Selina at the same café,
in the same seat, from basically the same angle that Alfred imagined seeing him at years before – and at the
same time Alfred happened to be there, also, sitting in the same seat he did
years before? It seems like a rather big coincidence. Just an honest question.
How did Bruce know which cafe it was? Did Alfred give the address? Again, just expanding on an honest question.
Because he's fucking BATMAN! Think he couldn't figure out where to go so that Alfred could see he survived? Please. Alfred said he went to the same cafe in Venice next to the same river every year for 7 years, like Bruce couldn't follow him there one day, then be there waiting with Selina the next.
The tracking device in the necklace let Alfred know where Bruce was.
But how did Bruce know what Cafe to go to? What are the odds of him finding that exact cafe?
I see what you're saying but it's suspension of disbelief. Maybe Bruce and Selina just happened to go to that same cafe while Alfred was there. No one is really sure, and I have no problem with that.
I think that shot (actually, the whole last sequence of shots) was designed to make you think, to make you wonder. And that's the reaction the world had. Some people think Bruce survived, some think he died. Personally, I'm part of the latter camp. But I think it's an open ending, and I can understand why people would argue that Bruce survived. Gotham thinks Batman died, but Alfred, Lucius, and Gordon are beginning to wonder - just like the audience is.
In short, I think Nolan left breadcrumbs in both directions.
It's because, Gehard C, he didn' t survive. Well, he did and didn't. He didn't because common sense says with less than 5 seconds to go, auto fly or not, you don't survive that. But that was throw into the movie to keep the chances up that he could somehow survive. Both crowds needed to be satisfied, and they both were. I believe he died, that's my take, and for the ones who want to say he lived they get that as well. Who loses here, am I right? That was the point.
But, as a by the way, here are my reasons I think he didn't in fact live.
1. Alfred never says which cafe he went to, just that he did, and that he had a FANTASY that Bruce would be there with a woman one day. He did get exactly that with the ending scene, for sure. And yes, he did see both Selina and knows she took the necklace, so that argument is moot for sure. He never could have gotten to that place at the just right moment, Gehard you have that right for sure.
2. Earlier, in the Pit, Bruce Wayne and the audience watching the movie see Ra's Al Ghul alive and well, right? We all saw him talking to Bruce, and Bruce DEFINITELY saw him and talked to him. Ra's says that there are many ways to immortality, foreshadowing for sure. Again, as far as a character are concerned, and we in the audience as well, Ra's is alive. We see him disappear but he was back to life until that moment. Didn't Alfred see Bruce alive in the end? Didn't we as the audience see him too? He is alive, screams most fans. But is he really? We saw Ra's did we not? Was he truly back to life? No, he was not. Alfred gets his fantasy for Bruce, and the audience sees it all as well. In the same movie we saw another man that was dead for sure "back to life" but that was from character and audience view. Same at the end.
3. There was no cut scene or change scene going on at the end. Bruce was flying the Bat towards the Ocean, I presume, with the nuclear 6 mile radius bomb, and is seen in the cockpit with less than 5 seconds to go. He didn't have enough time to get out and survive the blast, he had to pilot that bomb to it's final destruction. He died.
But you can't deny the proof he was there as well, right? That's true as well. There are good points on both sides of the fence, but I personally believe he was dead, mostly for the 3 above reasons. Official novel may say he lived, ok that's fine,but I'll take co writer and brothers opinion over a group that stuck with the black and white of the script. The black and white sees Bruce live. The black and white also saw Ra's back from the dead folks. I rest my case, knowing that we ALL get the ending we really want. That's the coolest part to me. I've see this movie 5 times, have read the book, and have the tablet game. I'm getting it on the 4th next month and will watch it over and over. After seeing it and thinking about it and talking about it with my wife, friends, and others, it STILL is intriguing and is fun to disect. I've never felt that strongly about any one film in my life. Mission accomplished Mr. Nolan.
Weak answer from Jon Nolan here.
Bruce Wayne DID survive, the fact that auto-pilot was fixed shows this.
The scene with Alfred at the end was not necessary for me. As it was the exact replica of his fantasy/dream scene from earlier.
Jon Nolan should have just answered the question.
You and me are on the same page. I am not sure if you read my response above, but it is basically the same as yours. I am glad to see someone else sees his response the same way I see it. I really can't stand when these guys just won't answer the question. They must just be trying to sell more DVD/Blue-Ray copies of the movie. Not to worry J. Nolan, most of the people that watched the movie are going to buy one.
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