20 Things You Didn't Know About The Dark Knight Rises

20. Christopher Nolan Was Extremely Reluctant To Return For A Third Movie

After the astronomical success of The Dark Knight, Warner Bros. were eager for director Christopher Nolan to return with a sequel as soon as possible, though he was initially intensely reluctant to helm a third film in the series - hence the four-year wait.

Nolan famously said in an interview, "On a more superficial level, I have to ask the question, how many good third movies in a franchise can people name?"

Worried that he would agree to a third film only to become bored during production, Nolan only accepted the gig after first coming up with a story he considered worthwhile.

The basic plot outline was set by 2009 before Nolan went off to shoot Inception, but wasn't actually translated into a completed script until much later.