Joker laughs. Batman leaves him to the SWATs.
BATMAN
Lucius. Find Harvey Dent.
EXT. BURNT WAREHOUSE, 52ND STREET – NIGHT 364
Gordon gets out of his car, gun drawn. Makes his way into the blackened wreck of a building …
INT. BURNT WAREHOUSE, 52ND STREET – NIGHT 365
Gordon peers into the darkness.
GORDON
Dent?
No reply. Gordon makes his way deeper. Up the stairs.
INT. SECOND FLOOR, BURNT WAREHOUSE – NIGHT 366
Gordon spots Barbara and their two children huddled together. He moves towards them – Barbara is shaking her head.
Wham! Dent cracks Gordon over the head with his gun. Dent disarms Gordon, rolls him over. He turns to look at the enormous hole in the floor. From this side, in the moonlight, Dent looks completely normal.
DENT
This is where they brought her, Gordon. After your people handed her over. This is where they bound her. This is where she suffered. This is where she died.
GORDON
I know. I was here. Trying to save her.
Dent turns, revealing his dark side.
DENT
But you didn’t, did you?
GORDON
I couldn’t.
DENT
Yes, you could. If you’d listened to me – if you’d stood up against corruption instead of doing your deal with the devil.
GORDON
I was trying to fight the mob –
Dent moves towards Gordon.
DENT
You wouldn’t dare try to justify yourself if you knew what I’d lost. Have you ever had to talk to the person you love most, wondering if you’re about to listen to them die? You ever had to lie to that person? Tell them it’s going to be alright, when you know it’s not? Well, you’re about to find out what that feels like. Then you’ll be able to look me in the eye and tell me you’re sorry.
Dent turns, steps over to Barbara – puts the gun to her temple.
GORDON
Harvey. Put the gun down. You’re not going to hurt my family.
DENT
No, just the person you need most. (Cocks gun.) So is it your wife?
GORDON
Put the gun down.
Dent moves the gun to point at Gordon’s little girl.
Please, Harvey …
Dent moves to James Gordon. Brushes the hair out of the boy’s eyes with the muzzle. Gordon snaps.
Goddammit. Stop pointing that gun at my family, Dent.
DENT
We have a winner.
Dent pulls the boy away from his mother.
BARBARA
No! Jim, stop him! Don’t let him!
Dent walks James past Gordon to the edge of the burnt floor.
He touches the raw wood at the edge of the floor.
GORDON
I’m sorry, Harvey. For everything. But, please. Please don’t hurt him.
Sirens.
EXT. BURNT WAREHOUSE, 52ND STREET – CONTINUOUS 367
Cop cars descend on the warehouse.
INT. SECOND FLOOR, BURNT WAREHOUSE – CONTINUOUS 368
Dent looks at Gordon, furious.
DENT
You brought your cops?
GORDON
All they know is there’s a situation. They don’t know who, or what. They’re just creating a perimeter.
DENT
You think I want to escape?! There’s no escape from this –
Dent indicates his face. His suffering.
GORDON
No one needs to escape, because no one’s done anything wrong. And nobody has to.
Dent chuckles. A macabre sight.
DENT
I’ve done plenty wrong, Gordon. Just not quite enough. Yet.
Dent squeezes the gun a little tighter against the little boy’s neck. The boy whimpers.
BATMAN
(o.s.)
You don’t want to hurt the boy, Dent.
Dent turns. Batman steps from the shadows.
DENT
It’s not about what I want. It’s about what’s fair. (To Gordon and Batman.) You thought we could be decent men in an indecent world. You thought we could lead by example. You thought the rules could be bent but not break … You were wrong. The world is cruel. (Shows his coin.) And the only morality in a cruel world is chance. Unbiased. Unprejudiced. Fair.
BATMAN
Nothing fair ever came out of the barrel of a gun, Dent.
DENT
(shows the coin)
His boy’s got the same chance she had. Fifty-fifty.
Batman steps closer, desperate, trying to reach Dent.
BATMAN
What happened to Rachel wasn’t chance. We decided to act. We three. We knew the risks and we acted as one. We are all responsible for the consequences.
Dent looks at Batman. Pleading.
DENT
Then why was it only me who lost everything?
Batman looks into Dent’s eyes. Emotional.
BATMAN
It wasn’t.
DENT
(furious)
The Joker chose me!
BATMAN
Because you were the best of us. He wanted to prove that even someone as good as you could fall.
DENT
(bitter)
And he was right.
BATMAN
But you’re fooling yourself if you think you’re letting chance decide. You’re the one pointing the gun, Harvey. So point it at the people who were responsible. We all acted as one. Gordon. Me. And you.
Dent is listening, the wheels in his deranged mind turning.
DENT
Fair enough.
Dent eases his grip on the boy.
You first.
He points the gun at Batman. Flips the coin. Tails. He shoots. Batman collapses to the ground, clutching his gut.
My turn.
He points the gun at his own head. Flips the coin. Heads.
He looks a little disappointed.
Finally, he points the gun back at Gordon’s son.
DENT
Your turn, Gordon.
GORDON
You’re right, Harvey. Rachel’s death was my fault. But punish me –
DENT
I’m about to. Tell your son it’s going to be alright, Gordon. Lie. Like I lied.
Gordon looks up. Pained. Locks eyes with his son.
GORDON
It’s going to be alright, son.
Dent flips the coin. High. Dent’s eyes follow the coin up. Batman hurls himself at Dent and the boy.
All three of them vanish over the edge. A terrible crash – then silence, but for the sound of Dent’s coin, spinning on the floor at the edge of the hole.
Gordon, horrified, runs to the edge – peers down.
Dent lies at the bottom of the hole, his neck broken. Dead.
The coin stops spinning, good side up.
Gordon’s son swings into view, hanging from Batman, who is holding on to a joist with all his strength …
Gordon reaches down to grab his son – hauls him up …
Batman falls … dropping and dropping, smashing through protruding wood and pipes … He lands hard, near Dent.
EXT. BURNT WAREHOUSE, 52ND STREET – CONTINUOUS 369
The Cops prepare to storm the front door.
INT. BURNT WAREHOUSE, 52ND STREET – CONTINUOUS 370
Gordon races down the stairs. Rushes over to Batman.
JAMES
(o.s.)
Dad, is he okay?
Gordon crouches at Batman’s side. Batman grasps Gordon’s arm, staggers to his feet.
GORDON
Thank you.
BATMAN
You don’t have to –
GORDON
Yes, I do.
Gordon and Batman stare down at Dent’s body. Grave.
The Joker won.
Gordon stares down at t
he scarred side of Harvey Dent.
Harvey’s prosecution, everything he fought for, everything Rachel died for. Undone. Whatever chance Gotham had of fixing itself – whatever chance you gave us of fixing our city – dies with Harvey’s reputation. We bet it all on him. The Joker took the best of us and tore him down. People will lose all hope.
BATMAN
No. They won’t. (Looks at Gordon.) They can never know what he did.
GORDON
(incredulous)
Five dead? Two of them cops? We can’t sweep that under –
BATMAN
No. But the Joker cannot win.
Batman crouches to Dent’s body.
Gotham needs its true hero.
Gently, he turns Dent’s head so the good side of his face is up. Gordon looks from Dent’s face to Batman. Understanding.
GORDON
You? You can’t –
BATMAN
Yes, I can.
Batman stands. Faces Gordon.
You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain. I can do those things because I’m not a hero, like Dent. I killed those people. That’s what I can be.
GORDON
(angry)
No, you can’t! You’re not!
Batman hands Gordon his police radio.
BATMAN
I’m whatever Gotham needs me to be.
Insert cut:
Gordon stands at a podium at Dent’s funeral. Behind him is a large photograph of Dent smiling.
GORDON
… a hero. Not the hero we deserved – the hero we needed. Nothing less than a knight. Shining …
GORDON
(voice-over)
They’ll hunt you.
BATMAN
(voice-over)
You’ll hunt me.
Insert cut:
Gordon, on the roof of Gotham Central, ax in hand, watched by an assortment of Cops and Reporters…
BATMAN
(voice-over)
You’ll condemn me, set the dogs on me …
Gordon takes the axe to the Bat symbol – sparking, smashing …
BATMAN
(voice-over)
… because it’s what needs to happen.
Insert cut:
Alfred holds the letter from Rachel. Thinking.
BATMAN
(voice-over)
Because sometimes the truth isn’t good enough …
Insert cut:
Alfred BURNS the envelope from Rachel.
BATMAN
(voice-over)
… sometimes, people deserve more.
Insert cut:
Lucius Fox types his name into the sonar machine.
Insert cut:
Fox hits the ‘X’. The machine flashes red ‘self-destruct’ warnings. Then dies. Fox smiles to himself.
Batman hurries off. Limping into the shadows.
JAMES
(o.s.)
Batman?!
James runs down the stairs to join his father –
Why’s he running, Dad?!
Gordon stares after Batman.
GORDON
Because we have to chase him …
EXT. WAREHOUSE – CONTINUOUS 371
As Cops race into the buildings the dogs get the scent and pull away from the doorway, following the shadow into the stacks of shipping containers …
INT. WAREHOUSE – CONTINUOUS 372
James looks at his father, confused.
JAMES
He didn’t do anything wrong!
Gordon stares after Batman, the sound of the dogs becoming louder and more ferocious.
Why, Dad? Why?!
GORDON
Because …
EXT. DOCKSIDE ROOFTOPS – CONTINUOUS 373
Batman lurches between shipping containers. Stumbling. Bleeding. He makes it to the Bat-Pod …
GORDON
(voice-over)
… he’s the hero Gotham deserves … but not the one it needs right now. So we’ll hunt him, because he can take it. Because he’s not our hero …
The Bat-Pod streaks through Gotham’s underground streets, the Batman’s cape fluttering behind. A wraith …
GORDON
(voice-over)
… he’s a silent guardian, a watchful protector … a dark knight.
Batman races up a ramp into a blinding light.
Cut to black.
Credits.
End.
The Dark Knight
STORYBOARDS
Truck Chase Sequence
The Dark Knight Rises
THE SCREENPLAY
Screenplay by Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan
Story by Christopher Nolan & David S. Goyer
Based upon characters appearing in comic books
published by DC Comics
Batman created by Bob Kane
Black screen.
GORDON
(voice-over)
Harvey Dent was needed. He was everything Gotham’s been crying out for. He was … a hero. Not the hero we deserved – the hero we needed. Nothing less than a knight, shining …
The sound of cracking. Splintering. A shape appears, in ice. The shape of a bat. The ice disintegrates …
EXT. GOTHAM STREET – DAY 1
Gordon stands before a massive picture of Harvey Dent.
GORDON
But I knew Harvey Dent. I was … his friend. And it will be a very long time before someone inspires us the way he did.
Gordon, choked with emotion, gathers the papers of his eulogy.
I believed in Harvey Dent.
And we fade to black.
Cut to:
Racing along a cratered dirt road, and we are –
INT. LAND CRUISER JOSTLING OVER UNEVEN TERRAIN – DAY 2
Three Hooded Men guarded by East European Militia. A third Militia drives. Next to him is a nervous, bespectacled man.
EXT. AIRSTRIP, EASTERN EUROPE – DAY 3
An airstrip overlooking a grey city rocked by artillery fire. a bland CIA Operative, flanked by Special Forces Men, stands in front of a commuter plane. CIA Man watches the Land Cruiser pull up, hard. The Militia Men jump out of the vehicle.
The Driver shoves the bespectacled man in front of CIA Man.
CIA MAN
Dr. Pavel, I’m CIA.
Dr. Pavel nods, nervous. CIA Man hands the Driver a briefcase.
DRIVER
He wasn’t alone.
CIA Man, confused, spots the Hooded Men. He turns to Dr. Pavel.
CIA MAN
You don’t get to bring friends.
DR. PAVEL
(shaken)
They are not my friends.
DRIVER
Don’t worry, no charge for them.
CIA MAN
Why would I want them?
DRIVER
They were trying to grab your prize. (Smiles.) They work for the mercenary. For the masked man.
CIA MAN
(excited)
Bane?
The Driver nods. CIA Man turns to his Special Forces Men.
CIA MAN
Get ’em on board – I’ll call it in.
EXT. SKIES OVER MOUNTAIN RANGE – DAY 4
The commuter plane struggles over snow-capped mountains.
INT. MAIN CABIN, COMMUTER PLANE – CONTINUOUS 5
The three Hooded Men kneel by the cargo door, handcuffed. CIA Man grabs Hooded Man 1.
CIA MAN
What are you doing in the middle of my operation?
Hooded Man 1 says nothing. CIA Man pulls a handgun.
The flight plan I just filed with the Agency lists me, my men, and Dr. Pavel here. But only one of you.
CIA man opens the cargo door. Special Forces hang Hooded Man 1 out into the howling wind – CIA Man shouts above the wind.
CIA MAN
FIRST ONE TO TALK GETS TO STAY ON MY AIRCRAFT!(Cocks weapon.) SO … WHO PAID YOU TO GRAB DR. PAVEL?!
Nothing. CIA Man fires out the open door, and the Special Forces yank Hooded Man 1 back in, clubbing him quiet.
CIA MAN
HE DIDN’T FLY SO GOOD! WHO WANTS TO TRY NEXT?!
The Soldiers grab Hooded Man 2, hang him out the door.
CIA MAN
TELL ME ABOUT BANE! WHY DOES HE WEAR THE MASK?!
The prisoner says nothing. CIA Man presses the gun to the man’s hood – he cocks the gun … nothing.
CIA MAN
LOT OF LOYALTY FOR A HIRED GUN!
THIRD PRISONER
(o.s.)
Or he’s wondering why someone would shoot a man before throwing him out of an aeroplane.
CIA Man turns to the Third Prisoner. Shuts the cargo door.
CIA MAN
Wiseguy, huh? At least you can talk. Who are you?
THIRD PRISONER
We are nothing. We are the dirt beneath your feet. And no one cared who I was until I put on the mask …
CIA Man, wary, approaches the Third Prisoner – pulls off his hood, revealing a dark mask with breathing apparatus. The eyes behind it are cold. Still. This is Bane.
BANE
Who we are does not matter. What matters is our plan.
CIA MAN
(fascinated)
If I pull this off will you die?
BANE
It would be extremely painful.
CIA MAN
You’re a big guy –
BANE
For you.
CIA MAN
(unnerved)
Was being caught part of your plan?
BANE
Of course. Dr. Pavel refused our offer in favor of yours. We had to know what he told you about us.
DR. PAVEL
Nothing! I said nothing!
CIA MAN
Why not just ask him?
BANE
He would not have told us.
CIA MAN
You have methods.
BANE
Him, I need healthy. You present no such problem.
CIA Man laughs for the Special Forces’ benefit. A heavy bass tone is rising. The Sergeant looks out the window.
THE DARK KNIGHT TRILOGY: The Complete Screenplays with Storyboards Page 26