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When Christopher Nolan first signed on to the Batman franchise no one knew what to expect.
After Tim Burton’s singular vision made Batman a phenomenon again in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, Joel Schumacher’s vision practically made the character a pariah after the horrific “Batman and Robin.”
So Nolan, best known for the cleverly constructed indie mystery “Memento,” had some major retooling to do. And the result, “Batman Begins,” was the most celebrated Batman yet. With a high-wattage cast including Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman and Liam Neeson and a refreshing dose of realism, Nolan reignited audiences’ love affair with the caped crusader.
Now that he’s managed to top himself with the follow-up, “The Dark Knight,” Metromix wanted to ask him about collaborating with the late Heath Ledger on the Joker, finding a replacement for Katie Holmes and the decision to put his star on the top of Sears Tower.
What made you interested in creating a sequel to “Batman Begins”?
We wanted to take on a sequel only if we could try and make something better. If you do a second film, you’ve got to offer something new and different. It was a little frightening to look at how few great second films there were, but we saw it as an interesting challenge.
Did you find more freedom to make the kind of film you wanted after the success of the original?
You know, to be honest, other than the difficulty of how you communicate what you want to do and explain to people the tonal shifts, we were very free to make [“Batman Begins”]. We were very well supported by the studio and everybody else. So it wasn’t really that our interests were freed up in this film. We felt that we had a good basis with the first film in which to expand outwards and onwards.
Was there any trepidation about putting Christian Bale on the top of the Sears Tower for a stunt?
Well, it’s crazy. But I knew that our stunt guys had a way to do it really safely so that the only hurt of the situation comes from [Christian’s] own fear. I wouldn’t do that. I’d just be terrified to.
Did Heath Ledger bring a lot of ideas about the Joker to the table that you hadn’t even thought about?
He was absolutely instrumental in figuring out how to make the iconography of the character balance with the sort of human side of the character. Not just humanize him, but to make him credible. Heath had extraordinary ideas on how to do that.
I would speak to him a lot about the way his character was cutting through the film the way the shark in “Jaws” cuts through the narrative. [The movie] is about the rise of the Joker and we wanted him to be an absolute, right from the beginning.
Did you know when you met with Heath that you had found the Joker?
Yeah, absolutely.
Why?
I’d met Heath before a couple of times. When he heard that we were doing the Joker, before we actually had the script together, he came to meet with me and told me he was interested in doing it. I knew that he was an extraordinary actor from his other work, and I knew from sitting there talking to him that he’d figured out how he could do this.
We talked about in general terms what the Joker would need to be in telling the story, and we talked about ideas of anarchy and chaos and the type of evil that can represent in the world. We talked about the character of Alex in “Clockwork Orange,” for example, as someone who’s anarchic and terrifying to the audience and yet somehow oddly charismatic. We just saw the character in the same way.
If he hadn’t come to you, would you have had him on a shortlist?
I’m not sure it would’ve occurred to me. It was a very unusual matchup, really. I think probably I would’ve assumed that he wouldn’t be interested.
Were there any worries about Katie Holmes not returning as Rachel Dawes?
Well, it’s always difficult to recast a part. You know it’s going to be a little tricky for the audience to pick up the change. But it was very important to maintain the character, so when Katie couldn’t do it, I was actually delighted that Maggie stepped in. She’s somebody that I’ve liked in other films, [who] also worked [for the role]. I think she really brought a great sense of credibility to the character, a real warmth and attractiveness as well.
How much pressure was there to deliver a PG-13 rated film?
Well, none really. Because I knew, you know, three years ago that it was going to have to be PG-13. So the way in which we made the film was very specifically crafted to achieve intensity, with the possibility of horror…and the judicious use of violence. I think we were always helped by the fact that Batman…will not kill people, he won’t use firearms. That placed some restrictions on the storytelling, but it actually makes you take things in a more interesting direction.
Can you talk about the decision to include Harvey Dent in the film?
We realized that Harvey Dent is going to have to pull the emotional background of the story. You know, the Joker is not that. The Joker is always going to be this catalyst for other characters. And so the Harvey Dent story is really what we chose as the foundation for the emotional story. What we needed from Aaron [Eckhart] was somebody who could project this very confident, relaxed, heroic, sort of all-American hero figure—a kind of young [Robert] Redford. But he always has to play fair to the audience, just clue the audience into the fact that there is more going on there. There are things at work that might go one way or another depending on the circumstance.
Have you thought about the possibility of a third movie?
To be honest, I have absolutely no idea. I just finished working on this film. We’ve got to get it out there and see what people think about it. I’m very bad at multitasking, I really am. I can only do one thing at a time.
