The Dark Knight Trilogy

Directed by  |  Christopher Nolan
Produced by  |  Christopher Nolan
Emma Thomas
Charles Roven
Larry Franco
Written by  |  Bob Kane (original)
David S. Goyer
Christopher Nolan
Jonathan Nolan
Starring  |  Christian Bale
Michael Caine
Morgan Freeman
Gary Oldman
Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Katie Holmes
Maggie Gylenhaal
Liam Neeson
Cillian Murphy
Heath Ledger
Aaron Eckhart
Tom Hardy
Marion Cotillard
Anne Hathaway
Tom Wilkinson
Ken Watanabe
Eric Roberts
Music by  |  Hans Zimmer
James Newton Howard
Cinematography  |  Wally Pfister
Editing by  |  Lee Smith
Distributed by  |  Warner Brothers
Release date(s)  |  2005 - 2012
Running time  |  140 minutes (Batman Begins)
153 minutes (The Dark Knight)
165 minutes (The Dark Knight Rises)
Country  |  United States
Language  |  English

The Dark Knight Trilogy is a series of films directed by Christopher Nolan and based on the DC Comics character Batman, released between June 15, 2005 and July 20, 2012. The first film of the series, Batman Begins, served as a reboot of Warner Bros.' Batman film franchise following the disappointing response to 1998's Batman & Robin. Unlike previous on-screen depictions of Batman, Nolan steered away from the fantasy comic book themes of the character and instead aimed for a more dark, realistic approach for his films.

The Dark Knight Trilogy has been tremendously successful both with film critics and audience members. The second installment of the series, The Dark Knight, became the fourth highest-grossing domestic film of all time (behind Titanic, Avatar, and The Avengers), and was nominated for a total of eight Academy Awards, of which it won two, including Best Supporting Actor for the late Heath Ledger's portrayal of the arch-villain The Joker.

The second and third installments of the trilogy, The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises, are considered to be two of the greatest conservative films of all time.

## Batman Begins (2005)[edit]

See also: Batman Begins

Grieving the murders of his parents for years and harboring for revenge, young heir Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) returns to Gotham City and unleashes his alter ego - Batman, a masked hero who harnesses fear to fight against criminals in the city who prey upon the innocent.

## The Dark Knight (2008)[edit]

See also: The Dark Knight

In the sequel to Batman Begins, Batman and Commissioner Gordon (Gary Oldman) create an alliance with District Attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) to take down the mob. Their efforts prove effective, until the actions of anarchic criminal mastermind The Joker (Heath Ledger) force Gotham into turmoil, and drive the three men beyond their ethical limits.

## The Dark Knight Rises (2012)[edit]

See also: The Dark Knight Rises

The third and final installment of Christopher Nolan's trilogy, Eight years following the death of Harvey Dent/Two-Face, Batman must return from self-imposed exile in order to confront new threats to Gotham in the form of the terrorist Bane (Tom Hardy), who plans to destroy the city.