FAQ for
The Dark Knight (2008) More at IMDbPro »

The following FAQ entries may contain spoilers. Spoiler tags are used sparingly in order to make the page more readable. Please note that the entries at the bottom of this page are about the ending of The Dark Knight and are not covered with tags.

For detailed information about the amounts and types of (a) sex and nudity, (b) violence and gore, (c) profanity, (d) alcohol, drugs, and smoking, and (e) frightening and intense scenes in this movie, consult the IMDbs Parents Guide for this movie. The Parents Guide for The Dark Knight can be found at http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0468569/parentalguide.

No. A dedication to Heath Ledger and Conway Wickliffe does appear about two minutes into the credits.

There are several official websites. Here's a list:

Warner Bros Official:

TheDarkKnight.com

Comcast Behind the Scenes/Teaser Content:

http://www.comcast.net/thedarkknightmovie/

Viral Websites (grouped by particular aspect of the movie or Gotham City):

Legend: #=Website updated within one week of last edit *=Interactive game being played very soon or immediately

The Joker:

Rent-A-Clown.com

WhySoSerious.com

IBelieveinHarveyDentToo.com

RorysDeathKiss.com

TheHaHaHaTimes.com

ClownTravelAgency.com

*#WhySoSerious.com/LaughTilItHurts/

ATasteFortheTheatrical.com (trailer 1)

WhySoSerious.com/HappyTrails (trailer 2)

WhySoSerious.com/MyHero (Harvey Dent Teaser Trailer)

Harvey Dent/Gotham Political Sites:

IBelieveinHarveyDent.com

DanaWorthington.com

TrustGarcetti.com

GothamCityClerk.com

GothamElectionBoard.com

WeAreTheAnswer.org

CCFABG.org

CitizensforBatman.org

Gotham News:

TheGothamTimes.com/

MaidenAvenueReport.com

GothamCableNews.com

Gotham Police Department:

GothamPolice.com

GPDIAD.com

GPDMCU.com

Gotham City, Business & Other:

GothamCityRail.org

GothamUSD.net

GCFerries.com

GothamNationalBank.com

GothamInterContinentalHotel.com

GothamCab.com

KinslyTravel.com

#www.GothamCityPizzeria.com

RossisDelicatessen.com

BettysHouseofPies.com

JosephCandoloro.com

AcmeSecuritySystems.com

GVAFoundation.org

SaintsWithunsChurch.org

RememberingGina.org

If you know of any new updates or websites, please post them here.

As of 7/11, every website listed above has been hacked into and defaced by the Joker.

No. The Dark Knight is based on a script co-written by London-born screenwriters and brothers Christopher and Jonathan Nolan, from a story by Christopher Nolan and David S. Goyer (co-writer of Begins). Christopher also directed the movie. It is based on the DC Comics character Batman and is a sequel to Batman Begins (2005).

However, The Dark Knight does incorporate certain plot elements from several of the Batman graphic novels published by DC Comics, including Alan Moore's The Killing Joke, Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns, and Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale's Batman: The Long Halloween.

No. This film and Batman Begins are a reboot of the Batman franchise. They have no ties to the previous Batman franchise.

Batman, who made his first appearance in DETECTIVE COMICS #27, and has been popular in comic books ever since, is a reference in himself.

Batman Begins referenced the comic book stories Year One, Long Halloween and Man Who Falls. The Dark Knight will continue the Long Halloween's idea of an alliance between Batman, Harvey Dent and Jim Gordon and make reference to such Joker stories as The Joker's Five-Way Revenge (from BATMAN #251), The Killing Joke and The Man Who Laughs.

Look for many references to The Killing Joke and The Man Who Laughs. Christopher Nolan handed a copy of each to Heath Ledger prior to filming in order to prepare for the role.

The title of this film is taken from a nickname that was first bestowed upon Batman in the comic book BATMAN, issue #1 (Spring 1940). Frank Miller, whose work inspired Nolan in Batman Begins, also used the term for his 1986 comic book mini-series, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns.

Six actors from Batman Begins (2005) reprised their roles in The Dark Knight (2008). They are:

1. Christian Bale - Bruce Wayne / Batman

2. Michael Caine - Alfred Pennyworth

3. Morgan Freeman - Lucius Fox

4. Colin McFarlane - Commissioner Gillian B. Loeb

5. Cillian Murphy - Dr. Jonathan Crane / The Scarecrow

6. Gary Oldman - Lt. James Gordon

The character Rachel Dawes appears in The Dark Knight (2008), played by Maggie Gyllenhaal. Dawes was portrayed by Katie Holmes in Batman Begins (2005).

The character Barbara Gordon appears in The Dark Knight (2008), played by Melinda McGraw. Barbara was played by Ilyssa Fradin in Batman Begins (2005).

Note: the actors Nadia Cameron-Blakey and Jamie Cho were in Batman Begins (2005) and are also in The Dark Knight (2008) as different characters.

The director Christopher Nolan told Mean Magazine he wants to do something different from Batman Begins (2005), his first film in the series. The title is a way of telling the public as much. It also distances the film from Saturday morning cartoons, the campy 1960s TV series and the Tim Burton/Joel Schumacher movies of the late '80s and '90s. In fact, this will be the first Batman movie not to have "Batman" in the title.

The title prepares us for the grim tone of the film. It is reinforced in a quotation from the trailer: "The night is darkest before the dawn."

Nolan said the title was carefully chosen. It certainly has precedent. "The Dark Knight" is a title first bestowed upon Batman in BATMAN #1 (Spring, 1940), and Frank Miller, whose work inspired Nolan in Batman Begins, used the term for his 1986 comic book mini-series, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns. Moreover, Harvey Dent is known in the film as "The White Knight," which adds a touch of irony to the title.

Teaser:

Apple: http://www.apple.com/trailers/wb/thedarkknight/trailer1

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RP2jFn9Zk-U

Theatrical Trailer #1:

Official Site: http://atasteforthetheatrical.com/deathtrap/default.htm

Apple: http://www.apple.com/trailers/wb/thedarkknight/trailer2/

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaIR9dAZRR0

Theatrical Trailer #2:

Official Site: http://whysoserious.com/happytrails/trailer.htm

YouTube: http://youtube.com/watch?v=GhSwcK8PGek

TV Spot #1:

Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vEau49Q-Jg&fmt=18 video has been removed

TV Spot #2:

Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGFX-iD_HH4&fmt=18 video has been removed

TV Spot #3

Youtube: http://youtube.com/watch?v=x2c3L0TC22w

TV Spot #4

Youtube:http://youtube.com/watch?v=r_BkeNvvMZ0

First Offical Video of Two-Face

Official Site http://www.whysoserious.com/myhero/

Youtube: http://youtube.com/watch?v=YRjpfMHB2IE

12 Official clips

http://www.iesb.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5143&Itemid=99

In Tim Burton's Batman (1989), Jack Nicholson gave the public a grimmer, scarier Joker than what it had known before. Their idea of the Joker had been Cesar Romero, one of the guest villains in the campy 1960s TV series, "Batman." Christopher Nolan continues the trend by making the Joker more sinister and less pranksterish than ever.

Heath Ledger based his Joker on Alex DeLarge from A Clockwork Orange (1971), which wipes away any thought of Romero. Publicity photos show him with the sides of his mouth cut, giving him an unnaturally wide grin. The mutilated mouth links him to Conrad Veidt who played Gwynplaine, the clown with the carved smile, in The Man Who Laughs (1928). Bob Kane and Bill Finger had thought of the grinning Veidt when they created the Joker.

But don't expect to see Gwynplaine's sweet nature or gentle humor in Heath Ledger. The new Joker is a brutal killer with a macabre and malicious sense of humor.

The Joker is Batman's archnemesis, therefore, it would be inconceivable to not have him in Nolan's universe. He is also a nasty figure who is very much in keeping with the grim tone of the current series.

Whether the Joker will appear in the third film is another matter. See this FAQ entry.

The two main villains are:

1. The Joker (Heath Ledger)

2. Two-Face (Aaron Eckhart)

There are also several other characters who play smaller roles, but can also be counted as villains.

1. The Chechen (Ritchie Coster) (A Gotham crime lord who joins with the Joker.)

2. Gambol (Michael Jai White) (Gambol is a Gotham crime lord partnered with Maroni opposed to the mob hiring the Joker.)

3. Lau (Chin Han) (A Chinese business accountant who keeps money for the mob.)

4. The Scarecrow (Cillian Murphy)

5. Salvatore Maroni (Eric Roberts) (Maroni now runs Falcone's mob family.)

In keeping with the realistic tone of the film, Ra's al Ghul (Liam Neeson), who is immortal in the comic books, does not return from the dead. His daughter, Talia al Ghul, does not appear either.

Katie Holmes's publicists said she had scheduling conflicts because of her new movie, Mad Money. A Wall Street Journal article tells another story.

Anthony Michael Hall plays a reporter named Mike Engel. To learn Engel's fate in the movie, see this FAQ entry.

Lucius Fox, a character original to the comic books, is the CEO of Wayne Enterprises and a secret ally of Batman.

In Batman Begins, Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman) is in research and development. Only at the end does Bruce Wayne fire Mr. Earle and hire Lucius as CEO. Lucius appeared in both Batman animated series in the '90s; he currently appears in the 2000s animated series called "The Batman." He did not appear in any of the four Tim Burton/Joel Schumacher Batman films.

See also: the character's page on Wikipedia

No. Christopher Nolan said he is depicting the early days of Batman. Robin is "in a crib, out there somewhere."

Rumors of Harleen Quinzell, aka Harley Quinn, appearing towards the end of the film floated about the Internet. One site falsely claimed she was to appear along with a list of Arkham inmates consisting of various members of Batman's Rogues Gallery.

There is a doctor in the hospital with a very similar name to Harleen Quinzell on her name tag, however, which might be a nod to Harley Quinn for future installments.

No. There is a Barbara Gordon in Batman Begins (played by Ilyssa Fradin) and The Dark Knight (played by Melinda McGraw). But this is the wife of James Gordon (Sr.), not his daughter or niece. She is obviously not playing the role of Batgirl.

In The Dark Knight, when cops are visiting Jim Gordon's wife, Mrs. Gordon tells his son to go with his sister. In the course of the film, we see that Gordon has both a son and a daughter. It's likely the daughter is the younger Barbara Gordon, who may become Batgirl.

The Scarecrow (Cillian Murphy), aka Dr. Jonathan Crane, returns for a brief appearance at the beginning of the movie. Batman wannabes try to interrupt a mob meeting, which Scarecrow is a part of. The real Batman shows up and subdues them all.

The Scarecrow survives the film and may appear in the third entry.

No; it looks like him, but it's a different actor. It is also not Thomas Schiff, the schizophrenic Harvey Dent threatens to kill earlier in the movie. It's just a random actor who is given a quick close up.

No. However, Lucius Fox makes a joke at Bruce Wayne's expense about how the new armor will stop a cat, and this could very well be a Catwoman reference.

No. Christopher Nolan shuns the supernatural in his Batman series, which makes the return of this character (whose life is artificially extended by centuries in the comic books) unlikely--though not impossible.

No. No one from the previous Batman franchise has a cameo in this movie or in Batman Begins, unless you count Nicky Katt. Katt, who has a small, uncredited role in The Dark Knight, briefly appeared in Batman & Robin (1997). His presence is unlikely to be a connection to the previous series, especially since Katt and Christopher Nolan are friends. Katt also appeared in Nolan's Insomnia (2002).

In The Killing Joke, a one-shot written by Alan Moore & drawn by Brian Bolland (released in 1988) the Joker is revealed to be a former engineer at a chemical plant who quit his job to pursue his dream of being a stand-up comedian. However, he was literally booed offstage after only one show, and was left desperate to support his pregnant wife. He agreed to help a group of local crooks rob the chemical plant, but tried to back out after his wife was killed in a household accident. The crooks insisted, and made him wear a red mask to wear so that if the police turned up, he would appear to be the ringleader. When, as predicted, both the police and Batman intervened, the engineer jumped into a vat of chemicals to escape, bleaching his skin white, dying his hair green and damaging the nerve endings in his face, resulting in a permanent, hideous grin. The pain and trauma he had gone through in just one day resulted in his going utterly insane, hence the Joker's belief that it only takes one bad day "to drive the sanest man alive to lunacy." But this is all open to interpretation. The Joker himself fully admits that he's lied about it so often, even he isn't sure what truly happened.

In this film, it's made clear that a freak accident hasn't made him look like a clown. He wears make-up (his clown colleagues say as much), and we can see the makeup change throughout the movie as he sweats. In one scene, we even see him without his makeup on.

As for his scars, the Joker gives two conflicting explanations for them. He states that his father gave him the cuts on his cheek as a child after he (the Joker) took his father performing the same act on his mother "too seriously." The Joker also tells Rachel Dawes that his wife had scars due to an accident and that he cut his own cheeks with a razor blade to prove that scars did not matter.

He starts to tell Batman a third story about how he might have been disfigured. It is very possible that none of these statements are true. The ambiguity adds to the mystique of the Joker as a nobody who comes from nowhere; and it keeps the audience guessing.

Harvey Dent is kidnapped and tied up. He falls over while trying to escape, which knocks over a gas barrel, spilling its contents and splashing some on his face. As Batman saves Dent from the building rigged by the Joker, it explodes. Both narrowly escape, but Dent is burned as fire shoots out from the explosion and ignites the fuel.

In the hospital, Dent demands that Gordon say the nickname given to him (Dent) when he was working with Internal Affairs. Gordon replies "Two-Face." Dent adopts the nickname as his own.

The comics have a different origin for Harvey Dent. Dent gives testimony in court against a mobster named Salvatore Maroni, who appears in this movie. Maroni tosses a bottle of acid at Dent's face. Batman comes in to prevent the throw, but he only succeeds in saving half of Harvey's face. Dent later steals Maroni's good luck coin, and uses it to decide if he will be good or evil. This was depicted in the original Detective Comics.

The Jeph Loeb/Tim Sale graphic novel, Batman: The Long Halloween, has a slight variation. Maroni still scars Dent, but Sal has help from a corrupt assistant DA. He manages to smuggle the acid in a bottle he claims contains antacids to treat a nonexistent stomach ulcer. Harvey inherits the coin from his abusive father (In the film, Harvey's coin also comes from his father, but there's no mention of whether he was abusive.)

In the film, Maroni still attempts to have Dent killed in the courtroom, but employs a (ultimately defective) gun instead of the acid; this was possibly included as a nod to the original comic version.

For more on Harvey Dent/Two Face, visit his Wikipedia page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two-Face.

Possibly. While the film tries to keep the characters relatively realistic, it still requires us to suspend our disbelief. The left side of Dent's face is soaked in an accelerant, which is ignited, completely burning and charring the skin on the left side of his face. His left eyelid is completely burned away as well as most of his cheek, exposing his jaw muscles and the inside of his mouth. While there are no vital arteries to be destroyed, he would be in an unimaginable amount of pain. Given the pain, grief and trauma Harvey suffers, it's not difficult to imagine him going insane. Harvey's internal battle, as depicted in the comic books, is the battle between his evil, revenge-driven half and his sane, compassionate half, hence his new name, Two-Face.

While a person could reasonably survive the burning, it is worth noting that it is not possible to leave the muscles and eyeballs exposed without the tissue dying. Immediate surgery and skin would have been required. Harvey also makes facial expressions that are not possible, since his muscles are so badly damaged. It's also not possible for him to speak as clearly as he does, since half his lips and cheek are missing. Moreover, third degree burn victims are also susceptible to infection. They are kept in "burn units" in hospitals where the air they're surrounded with can be controlled.

Nevertheless, it's not difficult to suspend our disbelief for the character, especially when he exists in a comic book fantasy. Many viewers put down his survival and ability to function to an adrenaline rush. It's also worth noting that the character does not live for very long after the accident, so his ability to survive in the long term need never be a problem in terms of realism, unless he is resurrected for future installments.

Some concept art was shown on Slashfilm.com, but was removed under request of Warner Bros. The leaked concept art of Two-Face can be viewed here: http://www.wwtdd.com/photo.phtml?post_key=5892&photo_key=13212

In the aftermath of the film's release, we can now see that the concept art was right on the money, though the eye's not *quite* right and the forehead is slightly larger with a little more pink.

A new video of Two-Face, released by Warner Brothers, has surfaced on the internet. It does not show all of his face, but enough to give some validity to the leaked concept art: the flesh is charred black and there's a gaping hole where the cheek should be. The video can be viewed either here (http://www.whysoserious.com/myhero/) or here (http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=MUlWVd3ouWc).

You can see a screen capture of Two-Face from one of the trailers here:

http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n157/joshm9393/Movie%20Stuff/Darkknightscreen4-1.jpg

Be sure to look at the other side of the suit (near the window).

Here is a very good version of what Two-face looks like: http://www.hottoys.com.hk/product.php?cat=66&pid=394

The suit was changed both for story and production reasons. During the production of Batman Begins, Christian Bale and the stunt men were constantly in danger of overheating because of the dense nature of the foam latex used to create the suit. It was also difficult for Bale to move, rotate, or to show expression in the head and neck area. The suit also damaged easily.

The new suit is made of polyurethane; it's a lot cooler and more durable, despite the increase of eight pounds.

In the movie, Bruce Wayne asks Lucius for a new suit that will allow him to turn his head (which, he comments, will make it easier to back out of the driveway) and also protect him from dogs (referring to a prior attack). Lucius warns that increased agility means an increased vulnerability to bullets and knives.

Yes. Batman has a new vehicle called a Batpod, which is a re-imagining of the Batcycle (Batman's motorcycle from previous incarnations). Within the film it is actually a detachment from the Tumbler (the Batmobile) after that vehicle is catastrophically damaged by an RPG (rocket-propelled grenade) fired at close range by the Joker.

2008 Euro-Spec Lamborghini Murciélago LP 640.

Movie Still: http://image.motortrend.com/f/miscellaneous/lamborghini-spotted-in-latest-dark-knight-trailer/9823224+cr1+re0+ar1/2009-lamborghini-murcielago-darkknight-front.jpg

http://autodrum.com/img/media/wallpapers/lamborghini_murcielago_lp_640_2006_01.jpg

The name Murciélago (pronounced moor-thee-EH-la-goh in traditional Castilian Spanish and moor-see-EH-la-goh in Spanish of Latin America), means "bat" in Spanish.

The secret garage is not connected to the penthouse. Instead it's located underneath a shipping dock owned by Wayne Enterprises.

Even though it's not a canon part of the Nolanverse, Louise Simonson's novelization of the animated Batman: Gotham Knight provides a reasonable explanation of how Bruce was able to modify his penthouse apartment in The Dark Knight (boldface added for emphasis):

---

Despite a recent effort by an ex-CEO to take the company public while Bruce was out of the country and presumed missing, Bruce had managed to buy up the majority of the stock. He continued to own the controlling shares in Wayne Enterprises, which had given him a great deal of leeway when it came to remodeling the corporate headquarters.

The Wayne Enterprises building took up an entire city block. It rose in art-deco splendor into the skies of Gotham, just as splendid, in its way, as the taller Aparo Tower. It was one of Gotham's indespensable hubs of financial power and a vital center for public transportation. Half of its first floor and basement level was a nexus for subway, monorail, and commuter train lines.

The building had been badly damaged during the violence that followed the recent outbreak at Arkham. Wayne had used the excuse of much-needed repairs to install a private elevator that ran from his office, through the basement, and into the subbasement level that housed the newly refurbished Applied Sciences Division.

---

---

BRUCE WAYNE MOVES INTO "MAMMOTH" PENTHOUSE APARTMENT

Where does the richest man in Gotham move when his house burns down? For Bruce Wayne, the answer was easy - find the priciest luxury tower in town and buy the entire top two floors.

With seven bedrooms, six baths, marble flown in from Italian rockyards, two ballrooms, and panoramic city views, Wayne's new residence represents the ultimate in city living.

Wayne Industries is using the apartment to test out radical new technologies for home use. It's a "digital home" where your every whim - from music to lighting to video and games -- can be granted via fingertip access points.

Wayne gutted the interior and invested millions in a renovation. And today was the move-in date.

Curiosity seekers and photographers jostled for a view as Bruce Wayne moved his belongings - thinned out from the fire -- into the penthouse suite at Gotham Century Towers.

---

Gotham City is a fictional U.S. port city located on the north-eastern Atlantic coast. It was originally a stand-in for New York City, but has also resembled other crime-ridden urban centers such as Chicago and Detroit. Some sources, including Mayfair Games' authorized (but now out-of-print) Atlas of the DC Universe, have placed Gotham City in the state of New Jersey.

Christopher Nolan's Gotham City is located in the middle of the estuary of the Liberty River, where it empties into the Atlantic Ocean. The river separates most of Gotham from the mainland. The River Merchant divides Uptown from Midtown, while Midtown is separated from Downtown by the Gotham River. The Narrows is a small island in the Gotham River. A creek divides the district of South Hinkley from the rest of Gotham City. Gotham International Airport is in Pettsburg, to the north of the Liberty River estuary.

The current DC Universe version of Gotham City is separated from the mainland by the Gotham River, bridged by a series of bridges and tunnels. The east and south sides of Gotham face the Atlantic Ocean. The city is further divided by the Sprang River (named for Dick Sprang) on the northern end and the Finger River (for Bill Finger) to the south. Tiny Blackgate Isle to the south-east is home to Blackgate Maximum Security Penitentiary. (Blackgate is replaced by Stonegate Penitentiary in the animated series "Batman" (1992) and its spin-offs.)

Batman Begins and The Dark Knight both have scenes that were filmed in Chicago. In The Dark Knight, the US Post Office entrance on Van Buren was transformed into Gotham National Bank. After wrapping in Chicago, the production has headed to Hong Kong. "The filming locations will include the Central-Mid-Levels escalator, some parts of Queen's Road Central and The Centre," notes the newspaper The Standard.

Several:

Gotham City Map (by district): http://www.ibelieveinharveydent.com/youinaction.aspx

City Rail Map: http://www.gothamcityrail.com/map.htm

And, for comparison, DC Comics' Gotham City: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/2e/Gothammap.jpg

http://www.holycow.com/joe/wp-content/uploads/2006/11/joker_darknight.jpg

Many had been fooled into thinking that this was the official poster for the movie. It's a fake. Not only is it not a genuine poster for The Dark Knight, it is not even of Heath Ledger. This poster was made from a picture of Conrad Veidt, an actor who had starred in the 1928 adaptation of the Victor Hugo novel, The Man Who Laughs. Veidt's Gwynplaine, a gypsy clown whose smile had been carved into his face when he was a boy, was the main inspiration for the Joker in 1940.

The original, undoctored photo of the fake poster can be seen here.

You can view all of the official posters here: http://www.impawards.com/2008/dark_knight.html.

Heath Ledger, who died Jan 22, 2008, had finished filming his role of the Joker in the The Dark Knight. His death had little, if any, effect on the finished film.

Warner Bros. restructured its marketing campaign to focus more on Batman. Up until Ledger's death, it had concentrated on the Joker. But the Joker didn't disappear from the campaign. Trailers for the movie still included him. And posters for the film still had his signature line, "Why so serious?" Ledger's death did not affect the U.S. release date, which was July 18., 2008. No announcement has been made on whether the character will appear in the sequel. By the end of Dark Knight, the Joker is arrested.

The film is dedicated to Heath Ledger. The dedication appears at the end of the film. (See the entry directly below.)

Yes. It's only a couple of minutes into the credits. The dedication screen is shared with the New Zealand special effects technician, Conway Wickliffe, who died working on the film.

Likely yes, but this depends on the votes of the Academy members. They decide if the performance of an actor should be considered for "Best Lead" or for "Best Supporting," regardless of his screen time. But the consensus is that Ledger would be in for "Best Supporting" and Bale for "Best Lead."

As of12/22/08

International Award for Best Actor by the Australian Film Institute

Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association: Best Supporting Actor

Los Angeles Film Critics Association: Best Supporting Actor

San Francisco Film Critics' Awards: Best Supporting Actor

2008 Utah Film Critics Association: Best Supporting Actor

Chicago Film Critics Association: Best Supporting Actor

Houston Film Critics Society: Best Supporting Actor

Yes. Warner Bros. Animation teamed with Japanese animators to produce Batman: Gotham Knight, an anime-style direct-to-video prequel to Christopher Nolan's film The Dark Knight. An internal DC/Warner Bros. Animation marketing document described the project as follows:

---

Set in the period between BATMAN BEGINS and THE DARK KNIGHT, this brand new adventure follows BATMAN as he unravels a mystery over six original stories done in the style of Japanese Anime. Each of the six original stories has been written by a highly respected screenwriter or comic book creator. The talent includes Academy Award nominee Josh Olson (A History of Violence), screenwriter of the Blade films and BATMAN BEGINS David S. Goyer, and famed comic book writer Brian Azzarello, among others." Warner Bros. Animation is anticipating this to be rated PG-13 (most likely for animated violence).

---

Media By Numbers' OFFICIAL DARK KNIGHT RECORDS SO FAR (in order of occurrence):

1 - Largest Number Of Opening Theatres with 4,366 (More Than The 4,362 Debut Theatres Of Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End in 2007).

2 - Biggest Midnight Preview Gross with $18.489 million in 3,040 Theatres (Beats Star Wars Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith And Its $16.9 million in 2,915 Theatres in 2005).

3 - Biggest Imax Midnight Previews set a new record with $640,000 (Included in The $18.489 million Preview Number).

4 - Biggest Single-Day Gross in Box-Office History with $67.850 million (Bests The $59,841,919 set by Spider-Man 3 in 2007).

5 - Biggest Opening Weekend Gross in Box Office History with $158.411 million (Bests The $151.116 million set by Spider-Man 3 in 2007).

6 - Biggest Opening Weekend Gross For An Imax Release in Box Office History with $6.214 million in 94 Theatres With $66,107 Per Theatre. (Bests The $4.7 million set by Spider-Man 3 in 2007.) Imax Showing At Full Capacity $1.9 million On Saturday Alone.

7 - Biggest Opening Weekend Of 2008 with $158.340 (Beats Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull's $101.137 million From May 23-25, 2008)

8 - Biggest July Opening Ever (Beats Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest's $135,634,554 On July 7, 2006).

9- Holds the record for reaching the $200 million mark the fastest, after only 5 days.

10- Holds the record for reaching the $300 million mark the fastest, after only 10 days. Former record holder was Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006).

11. - $400 million mark in a record setting amount of time - just 18 days of release. Previous record holder - Shrek 2, which crossed the same $400 mark in 43 days.

12. Tickets Sold Online in a Single Day (MovieTickets.com)

13. Tickets Sold Online in a Single Day (Fandango.com)

14. Fastest Ticket Sales (Fandango.com) - 15 Tickets Per Second

15. Second-highest grossing film in US history unadjusted for inflation, taking over $471 million at the domestic box office in 30 days. (Overtaken the original Star Wars including all theatrical re-releases)

16. Highest grossing comic book movie of all time. (Overtaken the first Spider-Man's gross of just under $492 million, adjusted for inflation)

17. Fastest to $500 million USA gross, 44 days. Previous record holder - Titanic.

As of Nov-14th:

Domestic Gross: $528,500,000

Worldwide gross: $997,500,000

1. Joker Introduction (Bank Heist)

2. Hong Kong scene

3. Chase scene throughout Gotham

4. Final fight scene in the skyscraper

5. End scene

6. Various shots over Gotham and Hong Kong

No. Gary Oldman (Commissioner Gordon) had stated in an interview with G4 that a video game was in the works, but this is no longer the case. However, there will be a Lego Batman Video Game as well as a game called Batman: Arkham Asylum, based on a story written by Paul Dini.

sources: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gYbdYXq2-Geb9gVY4idWXCsh7AaQD92DK9F80

http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/adventure/legobatman/index.html?tag=result;title;2

http://gameinformer.com/News/Story/200808/N08.0812.1226.23309.htm

The Dark Knight was released on DVD in the US on December 9, 2008. So far, it is known that there are five versions of the film released on DVD and Blu-ray: A single-disc DVD, a two-disc special edition DVD, a two-disc steel-book edition (only at F.Y.E.), a two-disc Blu-ray with a digital copy (according to Blu-ray.com), and a two-disc Blu-ray "Batpod case" edition. In Canada, a two-disc DVD steel-book edition and a two-disc Blu-ray steel-book edition will be sold exclusively in Futureshop stores.

The Dark Knight was released on DVD in the UK a day earlier, on December 8 2008, in a variety of editions similar to the US ones. While there appear to be no steel-book or "Batpod" editions, Amazon UK has an exclusive "Batman head" package for the DVD.

Nothing at the moment, although there were many alternate scenes, as evidenced by various trailers and T.V. spots. Knowing Nolan and his attention to detail, it would be highly likely we will either see those scenes on a special cut, or in the special features. Additionally, www.IGN.com is running a story of what they would like to see on the DVD. That article can be found here: http://dvd.ign.com/articles/892/892659p1.html

Promotional photographs also showed evidence of a more violent cut. When the body of the fake Batman is found the Joker card is stuck to the body using a knife. In the film it was just a paper clip. Nolan also confirmed that during the interrogation scene, a small bit was cut where "...Christian dropped him and then, almost as an afterthought, he kicked him in the head as he walked out of the room." He said this was cut for artistic reasons rather than to tone down violence, making it unlikely to be added back in for any kind of extended cut.

Source: "The Dark Knight Director Christopher Nolan On Batman's Interrogation" | Published by Casey Seijas on Wednesday, October 29, 2008 at 1:50 pm. | MTV.com

Yes. IMAX sequences are presented in 1.78:1 while the rest of the film is in 2.40:1. The DVD release, on the other hand, displays the entire film in its theatrical ratio of 2.40:1.

The following FAQ entries may contain spoilers. Spoiler tags are used sparingly in order to make the page more readable. Please note that from this point on the entries are about crucial plot points, including the ending, and are not covered with tags.

The crew and their roles are as follows: Happy (safe), Dopey (alarm), Grumpy (pack the money), Chuckles (crowd control), the Joker (crowd control), Unknown name (bus driver).

In the film: Happy kills Dopey. Grumpy kills Happy. The bank manager kills Chuckles. The bus driver runs over Grumpy and the Joker kills the bus driver.

The first two went as planned, but assuming the bank manager didn't shoot Chuckles and the bus driver didn't run over Grumpy, it was likely that Chuckles would have killed Grumpy (as Grumpy already shot Happy). Then the bus driver would have killed Chuckles and the Joker would have still killed the bus driver.

However, the Joker is a highly intelligent psychopath; he is able to plan everything out meticulously. So it may have worked out exactly how he had planned. Knowing that the bank manager was a mobster and likely would have had a weapon stashed in his office, he had Chuckles stand guard with his back to the office so the manager would shoot him. Then he had Grumpy place the money in an area too close to the doorway so the bus would run him over.

The pencil penetrated through one of the thug's eyes (although this is not explicitly shown), as the vulnerable eye is the only possible "point of entry" for the pencil to make an instant kill. Death would result from either the force of the eyeball, the pencil, or both breaking the bone directly behind the eye socket and forcing it into the brain; alternatively, the pencil itself could have penetrated straight through to the brain.

Then again, for moviegoers who can't suspend their disbelief, the pencil itself could have been one of the Joker's deadly props. The Joker, throughout the character's history, has always had a supply of normally harmless items made deadly, such as playing cards that are razor-sharp and flowers that squirt acid. The present Joker proves to have the same fondness for malicious gadgets right from the beginning, when he uses a smoke grenade on the bank manager. This seems especially plausible given that an ordinary pencil could not be jammed into a table, as the Joker does, without the pencil breaking and thus no longer able to stand up for the Joker's "trick".

The Joker made his first appearance, off screen, at the end of Batman Begins when then-Lieutenant Gordon tells Batman about a robbery the Joker committed. The Dark Knight takes place six months (as confirmed by interviews) after Batman Begins. The Joker has committed several crimes during that time. He is known to the police, to Batman, and to the mob. None of them think he is anybody to be worried about or taken seriously.

Then he begins his reign of terror, and seems suddenly able to do some rather difficult things (break into places, set bombs, etc). The obvious answer is that he had been spending the last six months carefully planning out everything so that he would be ready. For example, the Joker blows up a hospital. Most likely, he had set the explosives in place long before. This is a trait very typical of the comic book Joker -- he's able to prepare a crime for a long time and yet carry it out before anyone realizes what he's up to. He then "predicts" a crime that has already been committed.

Another possibility, since Maroni's (and the mob's) goals mesh well with the Joker's social experiments, is that he gets a considerable amount of assistance from the mob after the Chechen puts out the word that he should be hired to get rid of Batman.

The Joker has himself arrested so as to get to Lau and discover the location of the money. After doing so, he has all the money and is therefore in a strong position to demand his fee.

The Joker has a twisted set of principles. He will twist his words so people will believe him, but the result will not favor anyone but him. He deceives the mob because he is disgusted by how they only care about money and not the chaos and anarchy he loves so dearly.

For example, he finds the money as he promised the mob he would. Then he sets fire to "his half." However, given the fact that all the money is piled together, the rest of it would burn as well.

He told Batman where both Rachel and Harvey were being held hostage as he said he would, but he switched the addresses.

Nobody knows for sure. The Joker has a predilection for mixing lies with the truth, so you can't be sure whether or not he's telling the truth. However, the Joker does make mention of his father twice in the film - when killing Gambol, and when he holds the older gentleman at knife point (at Wayne's party). That the Joker hated his father is probably true - but whether his father caused his scars, or did something else to him, is not clear.

Batman and Rachel fall from the penthouse, one of the tallest buildings in Gotham, and somehow survive without any serious injuries by landing on a car. How is this possible? Batman appears to be able to survive falls from great heights, possibly due to his protective suit and training. He demonstrates this ability throughout the film. Rachel apparently survives because he breaks her fall. Batman is able to deploy his cape partially. Because he is holding Rachel, he deploys it just enough to slow the fall, thus preventing serious injury.

Batman uses some sort of hydraulic hand device to snap the gun. If you listen, you can hear a mechanical noise as Batman bends the barrel of the gun. He also uses this same device on Scarecrow's van. He tries to rip a hole in the side in an attempt to apprehend the villain. After the device jams, Batman is slammed into a wall and Scarecrow almost escapes. Batman then jumps onto his van from a few stories up, and crushes it. He captures and ties up the Scarecrow, his henchmen, and the fake Batmen. This is the only time we see this device used, as he gets a new suit shortly after.