Batman: End of a Trilogy

The last Dark Knight movie to be directed by Christopher Nolan is about to be released, and it kind of saddens me to see the popular franchise come to an end.  When I first heard that a new batman would emerge yet again in 2005, I took a step back and kind of shaked my head at the notion that Warner Brothers was trying to resurrect a franchise that burned out with Batman and Robin (1997).  Seven years later I look at the franchise in amazement at how well the story was told and also how popular the character had become.

When it was first brought to peoples attention in the late eighties that Batman would be brought back to the big screen, most were curious how the character would hold up.  Some believed the film would be based on the 1960's television series starring Adam West, but in reality the film would primarily be based on how dark the character had become in the graphic novels, The Dark Knight Returns and The Killing Joke.  When the film was released in 1989, most said the character of Batman was to dark and the film seemed to follow the character of the Joker more so than the hero, audiences on the other hand made the film the number one movie of that year and went on to be the most successful Batman movie, holding that title up until the release of The Dark Knight.  The film was followed by three sequels, the last being the nail in the coffin for the series.

The character of Batman seemed to have faded away from the silver screen, leaving us to enjoy the character through television and comic books.  In 2005 though, that all changed with the release of Batman Begins; a retelling of the origins of Batman and how he developed into the feared hero of Gotham City.  It was a more realistic telling of a hero we knew so well.  We looked at Batman with a different view, he was now a character that an audience could relate to compared to the comedic version of the 60's or the surrealistic view of him in the 80's and 90's.  The first two films have been a major success and with the release of The Dark Knight Rises,  the Nolan directed story should become one of the most profitable trilogies in the history of cinema.  The film is speculated to make north of $150 million dollars this coming weekend and will probably be the second highest grossing film this year, The Avengers being the first.

After the success of the trilogy and the climatic ending that most fans have been waiting for, we wonder what will happen to the character now?  From several reports online, its a possibility that Batman will be remade with a different story, actor, and director at the helm with also talks of a Justice League of America movie possibly being connected.  In all honesty though, the character should probably fade away after the release of Rises, and stay in hibernation for quite awhile.  Studios seem to want to reboot everything that made a great deal of money  How about we just let Batman fade out of our memories and bring him back when there is a true calling for his return.  Time will tell what will happen to the beloved character.