It seems that every day there's a new article up on this site theorizing over The Dark Knight Rises and what the plot will be. After reading most of these articles, I decided to throw my hat into the ring on the subject. Now, for the most part this article is pure speculation based on what we know (and don't know) about TDKR and also I'm drawing the recently leaked story points.
First lets look at what we know about The Dark Knight Rises. We know that the principal players are returning, we know that two new characters are Bane and Catwoman, and we know that it's meant to tie back to Batman Begins somehow. Really, that's all team Nolan has told us so far, which is very little. Recently, a story synopsis leaked that Batman teams up with Catwoman at the end against Bane and the League of Shadows, and while this news hasn't been confirmed, many sources say it's true. Personally, I think these story rumors are true seeing how Talia rumors have been swirling almost since the beginning of development on the movie, and this also ties in with Gary Oldman's comments that TDKR tying back to Batman Begins.
But I think that in order to figure out the story, we have to figure out the theme. Nolan's Bat-movies have been heavily theme driven, with Batman Begins having a theme of fear, and The Dark Knight having themes of escalation and chaos. What will the theme of The Dark Knight Rises be? It's right there in the title.
Rises. As in rising from the ashes. As in rebirth.
I think we will see the rebirth of both Batman and Gotham City in The Dark Knight Rises, making it a perfect, full circle way to end the series. At the end of The Dark Knight, we saw the citizens of Gotham, normal people and criminals alike, show that they all have the capacity to do good in them, but we also saw the hope for Gotham, Harvey Dent, twisted and corrupted by the Joker. In the end, Batman took responsibility for murders he didn't commit in order to keep Dent's name clean, and now Batman is on the run, shunned by the people he swore to protect.
In TDKR, I think we're going to pick up on Batman, still trying to fight the good fight, while also dodging police eager to bring him in. Batman's journey in The Dark Knight Rises, and everything he comes across in the movie, Catwoman, Bane, The League of Shadows, all add something to his eventual rebirth in the movie. Needless to say, I think that in this movie we will see Batman go from the hero Gotham deserves into the hero Gotham needs.
First thing that I think will tie into this theme of rebirth is Bane and League of Shadows. I'm guessing that Talia pulls together the remains of the League of the Shadows and sets her sights on Gotham, not only to finish what her father started but also to ruin the man who killed her father: Batman. Rumors swirl that Bane is part of League of Shadows, and I wouldn't be surprised if he has a back-story similar to Bruce Wayne's: a directionless young man taken in by the League and trained to be their best fighter, especially one to combat the Leagues greatest failure, Batman. I'm sure we'll see a fight scene early on between Batman and Bane where Batman finds himself out-matched and severely beaten by Bane. Do I think Bane will break the Bat? No. While I'm sure Bats will receive quite a beating from Bane, I don't think he'll get his back broken because it's such a major injury that I don't think one movie could cover Bruce being broken and his recovery.
So, we have the Bat out of the picture, and the newly reborn League of Shadows goes about setting it's grand plan to destroy Gotham once and for all. While this goes on, Bruce is pushing himself to recover, training mentally and physically to take on Bane and the League again. In my last article, I said that this new Batman had to put it's focus on Batman again, and I think it will as Bruce doubts himself and his ability to protect his city. But like any hero, Bruce Wayne overcomes his doubts and physical ailments and returns to full form, ready to take back Gotham.
One interesting thing about the rumored storyline for TDKR is that it says that in the end, Catwoman teams with Batman against the League of Shadows. So we know that she's good in the end, but what about the rest of the movie? I think that when we first see Catwoman, her and Bats will be very much at odds. Catwoman will probably something of a Han Solo type, only out for herself. I'm also guessing that Bruce and Selina Kyle will have some sort of relationship where they don't know about each others alter egos, making for a very entertaining, ironic romance. In the end though, I think Catwoman will be forced to choose between looking out for herself, or helping the greater good. After some deliberation, we'll see Catwoman give in and help Bats vanquish the League and save Gotham (and hopefully a Catwoman/Talia girlfight). Will Catwoman stay on the good side? I doubt it, in fact I see her slinking off into the night much like the ending of Batman Returns
with no one knowing her next move but here.
But the biggest symbol of rebirth in the movie will be Gotham City itself. Much like the citizens of Gotham refusing to kill each other at the end of The Dark Knight, I think we'll see a moment where the people of Gotham decide to take back their city. Maybe it will be in the fight against the League of Shadows in some way, I'm not sure, but I'm sure we will see that by the end of this movie, Gotham will be in a much better place than the first two movies.
So, we have Batman, being physically and mentally reborn. We have Catwoman, going from a petty criminal to a hero. We have Gotham City finally transforming from crime ridden city to a new, safe place. I'm sure that at some point Batman will also redeem himself in the eyes of the people of Gotham and will once again be seen as their protector. Batman's quest to save his city, started in Batman Begins, will finally be achieved, and the reborn League of Shadows finally defeated. So where does this lead Batman? Will he finally hang up the cape and tights like he said in The Dark Knight? Once again, I don't think so. In the past two Bat-films, we've had multiple people tell Bruce that he's getting lost in Batman, and I think we'll see this in TDKR. Bruce will realize that Gotham is safe and his enemies defeated, but he'll realize that he can never stop being Batman and will continue going out into the night to keep his city safe.
Well that's it, my predictions for what we'll see in The Dark Knight Rises. Christopher Nolan is a director that is notorious for being secretive so I think the only way to know what the movie is really about is when we go and see it next July. Anything can happen now as far as news goes on this movie, and who knows, our guesses could be completely off. Only one real way to find out though...