All three instalments of The Dark Knight Trilogy are rightfully considered classics, but it's 2008's The Dark Knight which will likely be remembered as one of the greatest superhero movies ever made.
Among its many incredible qualities is the sequel's iconic dialogue, including an exchange between Harvey Dent and Bruce Wayne which sees the former say, "You either die a hero or you live long enough to become the villain." For filmmaker Christopher Nolan, the line still weighs heavily on him.
"I’m plagued by a line from The Dark Knight, and I’m plagued by it because I didn’t write it," he tells Deadline. "My brother [Jonathan] wrote it. It kills me, because it’s the line that most resonates. And at the time, I didn’t even understand it. He says, 'You either die a hero or you live long enough to become the villain.'"
"I read it in his draft, and I was like, 'All right, I’ll keep it in there, but I don’t really know what it means. Is that really a thing?' And then, over the years since that film’s come out, it just seems truer and truer. In this story, it’s absolutely that. Build them up, tear them down. It’s the way we treat people."
The interview, which was conducted to promote Oppenheimer's awards campaign, also covered Nolan's decision to cast Cillian Murphy as the villainous Scarecrow in Batman Begins.
"I don’t remember having any resistance whatsoever to having a relative unknown take on a big part like that," Nolan recalls. "And previously all those villains were played by actors like Arnold Schwarzenegger or Jack Nicholson. They were the biggest stars in the films. But no, [the studio] got it. They were all blown away by the test."
"I don’t think [Cillian] had the physicality [for Batman] at the time. We tested everyone as Bruce Wayne and we tested them as Batman, and the thing that Christian had that was so striking was that he understood that so much of acting is about reality. So much of acting is about emotional truth. And when you put on a costume like the Batsuit, you have to become this icon."
"Christian had this crazy energy that he just directed," the director added. "He’d figured out how that worked and what that would be — the way Bruce Wayne does in the film. He adopts this persona. It’s a very specific thing. And he tore a hole on the screen as Batman. It was like, there was no question."
Murphy would reprise his role as the twisted Dr. Jonathan Crane in The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises, turning him into a recurring threat to the Caped Crusader. While the Irish actor initially hoped to play Batman himself, we'd say things worked out for the best.
Nolan will likely win "Best Director" at the Oscars next month, while Murphy is a firm favourite for "Best Actor." We're guessing Oppenheimer will also walk away with the Academy Award for "Best Film."