Christopher Nolan Was Hesitant to Make The Dark Knight; Here's Why

Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight is considered one of the greatest superhero movies ever made and continues to enjoy a cult status. The film which was a massive critical and commercial success not only broke several records at the box office but also laid the ground for franchises like the DC Extended Universe. The Dark Knight which is considered a masterpiece by Nolan begins with Joker’s meticulous bank robbery, further chronicling the city’s rapid descent into chaos. From Christian Bale giving an impressive performance as Bruce Wayne or Batman to Heath Ledger as the Joker, the film is the epitome of what Nolan has unmatched in the last decade.

While the film continues to remain one of the most lauded superhero films of all time, not many know that Christopher Nolan was not convinced about taking on a superhero movie initially.

Christopher Nolan was hesitant about making The Dark Knight

The Oscar-winning director’s brother, Jonathan Nolan who is presently busy promoting his upcoming TV series Fallout recently spoke on the “Armchair Expert” podcast with Dax Shepard and shed light on how he had to convince his brother for the film.

Notably, Jonathan has worked on The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises with his brother, while also acting as a consultant on Batman Begins.

Recalling the time when they were about to make The Dark Knight, Jonathan said, “Chris was on the fence about making another one. He didn’t want to become a superhero movie director. Chris was very proud of Batman Begins, but to me, it was like we built this amazing sports car, and I’m like, ‘Let’s take it for a drive. Don’t you want to make another one?’”

Further mentioning that they spent an hour telling the original story, Jonathan also asked his brother about what more could be done with the film.

“So I was literally sitting with Charles Roven and Chris and being like, ‘Dude, don’t be a chicken shit. Let’s do this! And I knew with the script and he developed the story with David Goyer with a little bit of input from me. Once we had the script done, I was like, ‘This is going to be great. This is exciting. We gotta make this movie.’ And eventually, he came around. He did manage to avoid being pigeonholed,” Jonathan concluded.

Despite the hesitation, while Nolan obviously went on to direct The Dark Knight, the film made around $1 billion globally, bringing Heath Ledger an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.