Christopher Nolan

Christopher Nolan originally approached Heath Ledger to play Bruce Wayne

Hard to imagine now — but Christopher Nolan’s first conversations with Heath Ledger were actually about playing Batman, not the Joker. But Ledger told Nolan that “he’d never do this kinda film,” according to a talk Nolan gave last night at the Film Society of Lincoln Center. But by the time came that Nolan was…

Movies Charlie Jane Anders Nov 29

Today’s Crazy Rumor: The Dark Knight Rises DVD will have a longer Director’s Cut

Given Christopher Nolan’s avowed hatred for including deleted scenes on his DVD releases, this seems unlikely. But the website Nuke the Fridge is claiming that the DVD/Blu-ray release of The Dark Knight Rises will include a “Director’s Cut” that’s half an hour longer. Including the origins of Bane, plus more screen time for Liam Neeson…

Movies Charlie Jane Anders Sep 6

Finally, an explanation for Christian Bale’s gravelly Batman voice

Ever wonder why Batman’s voice in the Nolan trilogy sounds so familiar? Utubelor has your answer: he’s not our hero. He’s a silent sweets-fiend. A hungry protector. A Dark Cookie-Knight. Is this the best Sesame Street sendup since Cookie Rae Monster? We think so. http://gawker.com/5924786/room-for-one-more-the-sesame-street-send+up-of-call-me-maybe-starring-cookie-rae-monster Hat tip to Shirley!

Movies Robbie Gonzalez Aug 25

Bane could have been much more badly disfigured in The Dark Knight Rises

Bane has had a rough life prior to becoming Gotham’s Reckoning, in The Dark Knight Rises — but it could have been much rougher, judging from some newly released concept art and details about a deleted sequence from the film. In particular, Bane could have had horrifying scars on his back, which require a prosthetic…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Aug 7

Genre Directors Who Have Never Made a Bad Movie

The history of science fiction and fantasy at the cinema is littered with wreckage. It’s hard enough to make a movie, and nearly impossible to make a good movie. So it’s not surprising that even some of the best directors in Hollywood have at least one stinker in their resumes. With The Dark Knight Rises,…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Jul 24

An exclusive Dark Knight Rises book chapter shows just why Gotham is easy pickings for Bane

The most fascinating part of The Dark Knight Rises might be the way in which Batman’s sacrifice at the end of The Dark Knight has spawned a whole new political landscape. The Harvey Dent Act has led to a new crackdown on Gotham’s crime, and the wealthy and powerful are celebrating while Bruce Wayne hides…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Jul 24

What would a sequel to The Dark Knight Rises look like?

Christopher Nolan promised us that The Dark Knight Rises would be the final chapter in a trilogy — not just a third installment in an ongoing series. And he delivered. But does that mean the story can’t continue after this movie leaves off? After all, any ending, no matter how final, always contains the seeds…

Movies Charlie Jane Anders Jul 23

Nolan’s Batman Trilogy: A Unique Achievement in Myth-Making

As a stand-alone movie, The Dark Knight Rises is pretty darn good — better than most summer action movies, but not as good as The Dark Knight. But as the culmination of an epic trilogy, three films that are tight enough to be a single movie, it’s incredible. Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy does something nobody’s…

Movies Charlie Jane Anders Jul 20

No New DC Comics Movies For “At Least 3 Years” Besides Batman and Superman Films

Marvel Entertainment is coming off a string of successful films, culminating in The Avengers — but meanwhile, its counterpart DC Entertainment can’t get a non-Batman, non-Superman film off the ground. A new article in the L.A. Times reports that it will be “at least three years” before another DC movie hits our screens, besides this…

Movies Charlie Jane Anders Jul 11

13-minute Dark Knight Rises featurette hits the movie’s major characters and themes

If you’ve been looking for a relatively spoiler-light description of The Dark Knight Rises characters and their roles in the movie, this 13-minute featurette will whet your appetite for Christopher Nolan’s final Bat-film. Beyond the triumvirate of Bruce Wayne, Selina Kyle, and Bane, this video revisits familiar characters and introduces us to some new faces…

Movies Lauren Davis Jul 8

The Dark Knight Rises really is a descent into the underworld

There’s a fascinating interview with director Christopher Nolan over at Hero Complex. There’s a lot of lovely detail about the Cardington sheds, the giant coffin-shaped sheds built 85 years ago outside London, where Nolan has built large chunks of Gotham City, including Arkham Asylum in Batman Begins. For the new movie, Nolan built “a cruel…

Movies Charlie Jane Anders Jul 7

A Few Ways to Reboot the Batman Movies After The Dark Knight Rises

The Dark Knight Rises is almost sure to be Christopher Nolan’s last Batman film. But one thing’s for sure: Warner Bros. won’t let the Dark Knight die — another Batman film series is inevitable. And Will “Dr. Batman” Brooker, author of the new book Hunting the Dark Knight, has four ideas for rebooting the Batman…

Books & Comics Will Brooker Jun 25

‘This isn’t a car’: Brand New Dark Knight Rises Concept Art!

The coolest new vehicle in Christopher Nolan’s new Batman film is probably the new Batplane, which has been renamed simply the Bat. That’s the vehicle that Batman tells Catwoman is not a car, just before he takes to the skies and dodges two missiles, in some of the recent Dark Knight Rises trailers — and…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Jun 15

Clues from the Comics About Batman’s Fate in The Dark Knight Rises

Christopher Nolan’s third and final Batman film comes out next month, and we’ve been promised an epic climax. But what will actually happen to the Dark Knight in The Dark Knight Rises? Batman expert Will Brooker, author of the new book Hunting the Dark Knight: 21st Century Batman, has studied the trailers and viral marketing,…

Movies Will Brooker Jun 7

Vertigo soundtrack makes the Joker’s bank heist extra creepy

Christopher Nolan’s movies have often been compared to Alfred Hitchcock’s thrillers, and this video, which places the score from Vertigo beneath the opening scene from The Dark Knight, shows what a nice match Hitchcock’s audio tastes are with Nolan’s visuals. It also amps up the tension of the clown-faced bank heist. [via Geeks Are Sexy]

Movies Lauren Davis Jun 2

What will Joss Whedon’s next project really be?

Now that Joss Whedon has joined the tiny club of directors whose films have made over a billion dollars, there’s tons of speculation about what’s next for the no-longer-a-cult icon. People are dragging lists of Whedon’s unfinished projects out of mothballs — the Guardian suggests maybe he’ll decide to make a Buffy movie after all,…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders May 14

Dark Knight Rises trailer screencaps show just how bad it gets for Bruce Wayne

After going through the latest trailer for The Dark Knight Rises frame by frame, we only have one question left in our minds: Why isn’t this movie called The Dark Knight Falls? Check out our detailed look at the Gotham City horror, with in-depth analysis of screencaps plus some wild speculation, below. Beware: Major spoilers!…

Movies Charlie Jane Anders May 1

33 Science Fiction and Fantasy Movies that Could Rock Your Summer

This year’s summer movies just won’t let up. There’s Joss Whedon’s Avengers, Chris Nolan’s third Batman film, and Ridley Scott’s long-awaited return to space horror. Plus maybe a dozen other movies that look like they could be totally fantastic. Here’s our complete list of 32 movies coming out between now and September — including superheroes,…

Movies Charlie Jane Anders Apr 23

Dark Knight/Prestige trailer mashup explains Nolan’s three-movie magic trick

Mashup trailers can be a lot of fun — especially when they involve making ponies say things ponies wouldn’t normally say. But there’s a special layer of depth to this trailer, which places Michael Caine’s narration from The Prestige over footage from Christopher Nolan’s Batman movies to comment on the three acts of the Dark…

io9 Lauren Davis Feb 19

Watch Keanu Reeves interview George Lucas, Chris Nolan and more on the Death of Film

Someone gave Keanu Reeves a camera crew, and sent him out hunting for famous directors to carry on the great debate of digital versus film. Watch film greats such as Martin Scorsese, James Cameron and Steven Soderbergh talk movies — it’s kind of a rare treat to see all these directors share their opinions on…

io9 Meredith Woerner Jan 19