I can honestly say that I have something in common with 12.5 million people (i.e. the number of people that have viewed
The Dark Knight Rises trailer in the first 24 hours it was released on iTunes this past month) - and that is the fact that I can hardly wait until Christopher Nolan releases his newest installment of the most recent Batman franchise. He's done an amazing job with these films and it'll be a while before someone can take on the Batman franchise the same way he has so far.
Recently, people have asked a very concerning question: will Batman die? I say no. Here's why: while Nolan and his gang of awesomeness have been playing with the idea of Bane breaking Batman's back (i.e. the picture floating around of Tom Hardy breaking a production crew member's back), it goes back to the title of the film -
The Dark Knight Rises. According to the synopsis released to the press, Batman returns after going into hiding for eight years following the tragedy of Harvey Dent's death. Without even knowing the complete details of how the plot unfolds, here is how I firmly believe it will go: Bane goes to Gotham, causes havoc and destruction, Batman is pressured to return (but doesn't - Bruce Wayne combats the evil in legitimate forms), Gotham gets worse, Batman returns to fight Bane only to have his back broken (*if this doesn't happen, this film will fail quite simply because of how much Nolan has been toying with this idea - fans will be PISSED!*), Batman regroups, returns again to rise up in order to overcome Bane and then defeat him. It'll very likely be in this vein. If Batman dies before Bane is defeated; however - a la Neo's death in
The Matrix Revolutions - fans will be pissed, and I don't think Nolan wants that. Secondly, this whole franchise has been built upon the idea that Batman MUST be the savior of Gotham City. This is especially evident in
The Dark Knight when Bruce Wayne tries and tries to sell Gotham City on Harvey Dent as the man who will save Gotham, but in reality Batman must fight on to victory. That is why he cannot relinquish himself of the mantle as "silent guardian, a watchful protector." He tried to do it in order to pursue the love of his life, Rachel Dawes, but we all know what happened as a result of that. In Nolan's franchise, it is fate that has made Bruce Wayne into Batman, and that is the Batman who has no choice but to save Gotham again and again because no one else can.
