7. The Land Beyond 3 Is Dangerous Territory For Movie Franchises
When it comes to most movie trilogies, the general rule of thumb is that the first or second movie is the best and the third movie is either a decent conclusion (like Back to the Future Part III or Return of the Jedi) or a severe let down (Like The Godfather Part III or Spider-Man 3). When movies series go into fourth films and beyond, they run the risk of wearing out the audience and running out of good ideas. If Batman Forever had been the last movie of the previous set it might be remembered a bit more fondly. At the very least it might be remembered as "the one with Robin and some really lame performances by Jim Carrey and Tommy Lee Jones" instead of being "the one that's not as awful as Batman and Robin". With all this in mind, Nolan may have picked the right time to pack his bags and head for greener pastures. He's already faced with the unenviable task of following The Dark Knight which had the dual distinctions of being the first super hero movie to be considered Oscar worthy by many respected critics as well as being the last completed film performance of Heath Ledger who like so many before him died in his prime and left a legacy haunted with "what would he have given us if he'd lived longer". With those two iconic achievements in place it's a virtual guarantee that a large chunk of movie goers will walk out the theater saying "It wasn't as good as part two." More importantly, even though there's a lot of places that Nolan could still take the franchise it's refreshing to see him being smart enough to remember the basic show biz rule of "Leave em wanting more" instead of cranking out more sequels until we get tired. Then again, if certain speculation prove true, Nolan might end out his run in such a way that there is no more to be had...