1) It Will Be A Better Film Than The One Fans Wanted
We fans can be a funny bunch. We can't always get what we want, and in fact almost always we
shouldn't. Why? Because we never know what's going to fire us up until it comes along. And then when we get it, we just want the same again. Lots of it. When "The Dark Knight" came out, it was
all about The Joker. Everyone went nuts for him. The character, powered by Heath Ledger's deliciously committed (pun intended) and brave performance, was so well-received that it has been causing costume clashes at fancy-dress parties ever since. So when it came to a sequel to "The Dark Knight" we didn't want to let go of him. The consensus seemed to be: "They should do The Riddler next, and make him all twisted and dark and messed up like The Joker!" In hindsight, the idea bothers me. Firstly, it misses the point of why the Joker is such a great character. It's not because he's twisted and dark and messed up that he's great, it's because his character challenges Batman in a unique way. You can't just "do a Joker" with every character in the Rogues gallery, what works with one won't work with another. To do the same plot dynamic (crazy guy terrorises Gotham with twisty-turny life-and-death challenges) is repetitious. The "Saw" films were bandied about too as a possible stylistic reference, and I can't think of anything
less like a Nolan film. Secondly, we as fans also have very little consideration for the filmmakers. We just want our Batman fix every 4 years until we die (please). It never occurs to us that the story might actually end. But that looks to be exactly what Nolan is doing. The Riddler just isn't a good fit for the third film of a trilogy. For a properly satisfying climax, Bruce Wayne has to be driven to the very breaking point of his emotional, mental and physical endurance. When you think about what kind of evil could cause this brainteasers isn't what springs to mind. Nolan's Dark Knight Legend can't end with Batman triumphantly saying "The doctor is the child's mother!" or something of the like. That just wouldn't be cool. Hell, the Riddler's modus operandi is sending Batman clues as to how to catch him. You can't have a villain who
helps you out as your main villain for the grand finale. Don't get me wrong, The Riddler is one of Batman's greatest rogues and somewhere in our future (in someone else's Gotham) there's a great Riddler-based Batman film. Something elegant, witty, and labyrinthine in the middle of a new trilogy maybe. He's a
battle-of-wits villain, another "escalation" like The Joker. He's not a closer. Bane, well he's a closer.