“You die as a hero or live until you become the evil one yourself.” The sentence from Christopher Nolan’s Batman sequel The Dark Knight has burned itself into film history and pop culture “Rosebud” or “I’ll look you in the eyes, little one“. 16 years after the film’s release, Nolan admits: The sentence didn’t come from him at all. He didn’t even understand it at first.
The Dark Knight scene still annoys Christopher Nolan to this day
Nolan explains to Deadline:
A sentence from The Dark Knight plagues me because I didn’t write it myself. It comes from my brother Jonathan Nolan. It kills me because of all the sentences it resonates the most. At first I didn’t understand him at all. The sentence goes: ‘You die as a hero or live until you become the evil one yourself.’ At that time I just said: ‘Well, I’ll leave that sentence in, but I don’t understand it. Does it really make sense?’
Check out one of the Dark Knight scenes here with the famous line:
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In the years since the film’s release, however, the sentence has worked for him became more and more meaningfulsaid Nolan. The story of the film is about how we others “build up and let fall. This is how we treat people.”
The sentence is mentioned in several places in the film. For example, it is used by Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) as a kind of credo, his Development from selfless prosecutor to insane villain Two-Face foreshadows.
Christopher Nolan’s remorse is understandable, as the sentence is considered by many fans Epitome of themes, which covers The Dark Knight. His brother Jonathan’s talent for complex ideas and their communication is less surprising. His acclaimed sci-fi series Westworld draws on precisely this ability in many places.