The Dark Knight - Follow-up to Batman Begins

The Dark Knight is the official title of the sequel to 2005’s Batman Begins, which successfully rebooted the Batman franchise. Christopher Nolan is again directing and writing, though this time he’s not working with David Goyer on the screenplay (however, Goyer did contribute to the story), but his with his own brother, Jonathan Nolan. At first I was upset at this news, as I’m a huge fan of Goyer, but then I discovered that the Nolan brothers penned The Prestige, which was an absolutely amazing movie.

In The Dark Knight, Batman (Christian Bale) will face off against his oldest nemesis, the Joker, played by Heath Ledger (Brokeback Mountain). Harvey Dent, the district attorney who later becomes the villain Two-Face, will also play a major role in the movie as he helps Batman and Lieutenant Gordon take down the clown prince of crime. Dent will be played by Aaron Eckhart (Thank You For Smoking).

Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine will both be reprising their roles as Lucius Fox, the CEO of Wayne Enterprises, and Alfred Pennyworth, Bruce Wayne’s butler. Maggie Gyllenhaal will be replacing Katie Holmes as Rachel Dawes, as Holmes had to turn down an offer to reprise her role due to scheduling conflicts.

Cillian Murphy, who played Dr. Jonathan Crane aka the Scarecrow in Batman Begins, said that he is contracted for sequels and is definitely up for donning the mask again, but as of March 2007, he doesn’t know if he’s returning or not.

Production on the movie began in January of 2007, with filming set to start in April. Filming will last from June to September in Chicago.

If everything goes according to plan, The Dark Knight will hit theaters on July 18th, 2008, and I will be the first in line.

Check out the trailer for Batman Begins to get a good feel for Christopher Nolan’s dark and gritty style.