Joseph Gordon-Levitt has addressed – with SPOILERS – the ending to Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises.
Again, spoilers ahead!
If there’s one character in the Batman mythos who’s been a little underserved over the decades, it’s surely Robin. The Dark Knight’s trusty kid sidekick has often found himself sidelined when it comes to cinematic incarnations of the Caped Crusader.
There’s Burt Ward’s classic take which made it into the 1966 movie, although that was really just an extension of the TV show. Then there’s Chris O’ Donnell’s version of the character which appeared in Joel Schumacher’s two Batman films.
Along the way we’ve enjoyed far more appearances by other Gotham City mainstays such as Alfred, Catwoman, The Riddler and what seems like a million versions of The Joker.
We have seen the character teased a few times, though. Zack Snyder did it during his series of films, while the ending of Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy seemed to hint that Robin would come to exist in the world of those films… just not inside the trilogy’s running time.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt played John Blake in that film, also known as Robin John Blake. Over a decade later he was asked by Inverse if there were ever plans to continue the adventures of Robin in any way. After all, we’ve heard in the past that overtures were made to Christian Bale to continue playing that universe’s version of Batman.
Gordon-Levitt had this to say:
“Nolan was making a trilogy. He never wanted to make any more movies. This was an ending to his trilogy. It’s funny, we look back on it now with the context of the Marvel Cinematic Universe – everything is a sequel to a sequel to a sequel. But back in those olden days, doing a trilogy was a lot, and that was how it was thought of.”
No great surprises there then, but it’s a little reminder that little more than a decade ago, we all sat down and watched the final part of a superhero movie that had an ending. A proper ending. With a third act and everything.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt is right: it does seem like a quaint idea, in the age of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but there’s been plenty of speculation regarding whether Marvel should have let Avengers: Endgame be the ending it could have been by allowing the world to rest for a while instead of moving into yet another phase.
If you’re a Robin fan, you’ll be delighted to know that the character is finally returning to cinema screens in The Brave And The Bold which will reintroduce the Dynamic Duo as part of James Gunn’s new era of DC characters. No casting has announced, but we’re fairly certain it won’t be Joseph Gordon-Levitt in the role.
