Christopher Nolan Was Unsure About Making Dark Knight: Didn’t Want To Become A Superhero Director

Oscar winner director Christopher Nolan was chosen by Warner Bros. Pictures in 2003 to direct an untitled Batman movie that became Batman Begins and was released in 2005. Christian Bale played Bruce Wayne/Batman in the movie, which became a critical hit and inspired two follow-ups, The Dark Knight (2008) and The Dark Knight Rises (2012). While the first installment did well in itself Nolan wasn’t sure about returning for the sequel but his brother talked him into it. 

Christopher Nolan’s brother convinced him to return to Batman series

In a conversation with Dax Shepard on Armchair Expert Podcast, Christopher’s brother Jonathan reveals the director was ‘on the fence’ about helming The Dark Knight. He said, “Chris was on the fence about making another one (after the first). He didn’t want to become a superhero movie director. So I was literally sitting with [producer] Charles Roven and Chris and being like, ‘Dude, don’t be a chicken shit. Let’s do this.’”

Jonathan said once they came up with the script and he was very excited and coaxed Christopher into making the film. “Eventually, he came around. He did manage to avoid being pigeonholed,” said Jonathan. 

More about The Dark Knight

The Dark Knight, one of the most celebrated comic book movies ever filmed, was influenced by vintage criminal thrillers like Michael Mann's Heat. Nolan brother received screenwriting credit for the sequel and worked together on the screenplay of 2012 film The Dark Knight Rises. 

Since then, the DC franchise has got another reboot, starring Robert Pattinson. The film is directed by Matt Reeves and stars Zoë Kravitz, Paul Dano, Jeffrey Wright, John Turturro, Peter Sarsgaard, Barry Keoghan, Jayme Lawson, Andy Serkis, and Colin Farrell in supporting role. The made its theatrical debut in 2022.