"Yahoo Entertainment reports that Warner Bros. recently officially announced that the final installment of Duke Rosenberg's Batman trilogy will premiere on the first weekend of May next year. The film will be released in standard 2D, 3D, and IMAX 3D formats. Currently, the film's final title has not been confirmed, and the start date of filming has not been set."
The crew had just been formed, and all preparations were still in their initial stages. Specific tasks were temporarily handled by Charles Rowen and Anna Princz, while Duke was still making necessary revisions to the script.
The outline and setting of this script had been completed ten years ago. The Duke Studio editorial team had already drafted the script based on this outline. Because the trilogy is continuous, it largely maintained its original form.
However, time changes, the environment changes, and Duke's perspective and aesthetic sensibilities have also evolved.
Ten years ago, this script, in his eyes, could no longer fully meet the needs of this final chapter.
The Batman trilogy is different from ordinary commercial films, yet it still does not stray from the superhero genre. Such films mostly involve fighting, and what Duke needed to address was why the fighting occurs.
All films create a conflict and present it to the audience, allowing viewers to naturally take a side—shield or spear—being led by the film. The audience is willing to follow whatever the director shows.
The level of conflict design determines how engaging a film is.
In the world, conflicts exist on three major levels: the highest, ideological conflict; the middle, human conflict; the lowest, physical or material conflict.
For example, in the first two films, Batman's conflicts with the Joker, Two-Face, and the League of Shadows were ideological conflicts.
In this completed script, Batman's conflict with Bane is a human conflict; Batman's conflict with the nuclear bomb is a material conflict.
Looking across superhero films, resolving these three types of conflicts has exhausted the minds of writers and directors.
The most common pattern is that while handling material conflicts, the human conflicts between hero and villain gradually escalate and resolve, ultimately elevating the theme through ideological conflict.
Once this is achieved, it is basically a good film.
In Avatar, it is stopping the forced demolition, then killing the colonel, and finally choosing to become a Na'vi.
In Terminator 2, it is destroying the research center, then defeating the T-1000, and finally the T-800 self-sacrifice.
The Dark Knight stands out because it breaks conventional conflict design techniques throughout. Every possible conflict is tied to ideological conflict, culminating in the dual-ship climax where everyone is on edge—not because someone is trying to defuse a bomb, but because at any moment, either side could press the button.
Moreover, this film has five major factions: "Batman, Harvey Dent, Joker, the Mob, the Citizens." Each faction has its own stance, perspective, and actions.
In the current script, there is practically nothing that qualifies as a faction. The mob has been eliminated, citizens are merely spectators and followers, and the police are ornamental. The U.S. military randomly appears halfway through, doing nothing substantial…
Why do the citizens not question Bane's rule? In The Avengers, some chose not to kneel before Loki. Did Jim Gordon's faith fail so quickly? Why don't citizens wonder who holds the nuclear bomb button? How much did Batman's "no-kill" principle actually contribute to the outcome?
These are all considerations Duke needed to account for.
Of course, all of this serves the film's entertainment value and suspense, merely adding necessary elements rather than representing the film's ultimate goal.
Otherwise, The Dark Knight Rises would not be a summer blockbuster but a completely niche, noir-style art film.
From the start, Duke was determined for The Dark Knight Rises to include all the necessary suspense and fun—elements indispensable for a summer blockbuster.
Grand action scenes, rich storylines, and vivid characterizations—every component that makes a spectacular drama must be thoroughly controlled, with nothing missing.
In Batman Begins, audiences saw the tragic undertones of young Bruce Wayne and his pain, the anger stemming from feeling helpless and frustrated, seeking a path, wanting to find himself, to understand what kind of person he could become.
Then, in The Dark Knight, he found that path, became confident and mature, pursued the most meaningful endeavors as he envisioned, and did so unwaveringly.
Now, eight years later, the one thing in his life that gave him meaning suddenly disappears, until he is forced to face new challenges again, whether Gotham City or himself confronting yet another deadly threat.
The source of this threat is the destroyer Bane. He wears a mask constantly, wreaks havoc on Gotham City under Batman's protection. The Scarecrow, defeated by Batman, is a lunatic; the Joker is an anarchist.
"And Bane, in terms of intellect and behavior, is an extreme terrorist,"
In the Warner Bros. audition room, the hulking Dwayne Johnson removed his mask and shared his understanding with Duke, "He looks terrifying and is incredibly smart. A highly intelligent enemy is the most dangerous."
When deciding on Batman's next adversary, Duke clearly knew this character had to be entirely distinct from the Joker and a formidable opponent.
Bruce Wayne's physical characteristics as Batman are crucial in the story. In the previous two films, no one challenged Batman in this regard.
This time, Duke wanted to give Batman an opponent who was physically equal or even overwhelming, and mentally a match for him. Bane is a fierce character, with an unstoppable drive. Combining such physicality and aura makes him a far more formidable adversary.
In terms of acting, Dwayne Johnson is mediocre, but throughout the film, Bane wears a mask. Even if the actor's performance were superb, there would be little room to showcase it.
In contrast, the visual impact of Dwayne Johnson is obvious. When he stands before Christian Bale, even a fool could see he is more formidable than Batman!
Moreover, as a champion in professional wrestling, using body movements to create tension and emotion would not be an issue.
As for lines and voice, that is even easier to handle. Duke has never been a director rigidly insisting on live recording. Plenty of post-production techniques can resolve Bane's voice, and even if Dwayne Johnson falls short in this regard, someone else can dub the role.
What Duke needed was a powerful destroyer, not a psychologically twisted character.
In this film, Batman will, for the first time, clearly fail to hold the upper hand in both physique and skill. Bruce Wayne has been retired for years; returning to action, his technique is stiff and his state is suboptimal.
Bane, besides being physically strong, is also ruthless, combative, and ideologically fanatical, making him unstoppable, with the aura of sweeping armies.
In this regard, Dwayne Johnson is extremely suitable.
Without spending much time, Duke decided to cast Dwayne Johnson as the destroyer Bane.
With Gal Gadot and James Franco already confirmed as Catwoman and John Blake, the main cast was basically complete, leaving only the role of Miranda Tate.
Similarly, Duke had no interest in a French actress, who had little market appeal despite working in art films and commanding a high salary. He planned to hold a wide-ranging audition for this role.
Originally, Scarlett wanted a cameo, but Duke refused. Having Black Widow appear in a Batman film would have been a disaster.
Additionally, Duke spoke with Christian Bale several times, paying close attention to his mood and psychological state.
Before playing Batman, calling Christian Bale a second-tier actor would have been generous. The two Batman films brought him unprecedented glory, and especially after The Dark Knight, he was a bona fide Hollywood A-list superstar.
Like most Hollywood stars, as Bale's fame and status rose, so did his volatile temper.
Most widely known is the Christian Bale profanity incident.
After The Dark Knight concluded, during the filming of Terminator 4, cinematographer Sean Herbert accidentally intruded into a set prop, distracting Bale. Bale immediately exploded, attacking Sean Herbert with various profanities, shocking everyone on set with his intensity.
In under four minutes, Christian Bale uttered "fxxk" 37 times—whether this set a record, no one knows.
According to people on set at the time, surviving that barrage of "fxxk" was incredibly resilient.
Although such mistakes on set are not frequent, interruptions during filming are inevitable. Sean Herbert subsequently apologized formally to Bale. If Bale's anger at having his performance disrupted was understandable, what followed revealed the domineering and unreasonable side of a Hollywood superstar.
Bale issued an ultimatum to the crew: if cinematographer Sean Herbert was not fired, he would quit. Even director Joseph McGinty Nichol personally tried to intervene, to no avail.
In the end, it was Charles Rowen, also a producer on Terminator 4, who came to the set and calmed the situation, persuading Bale to change his mind so that filming could proceed smoothly.
Incidents like this are not the first in Hollywood, nor will they be the last. Christian Bale is merely one of the many Hollywood superstars who behave in this manner.
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