The Big Picture

• The Dark Knight Rises draws inspiration from Charles Dickens' classic novel, A Tale of Two Cities.
• The end of The Dark Knight Rises mirrors the final chapter of A Tale of Two Cities, which focuses on Sydney Carton's self-sacrifice.
• The revolution of Gotham City’s criminal class in The Dark Knight Rises mirrors the French Revolution as depicted in A Tale of Two Cities.

While Batman Begins was a surprising critical success, its 2008 sequel The Dark Knight was a cultural juggernaut that changed the comic book genre forever. Christopher Nolan’s epic Batman story proved that superhero films could engage with complex ideas about reactions to terrorism, escalating violence, political corruption, and the surveillance state. Heath Ledger’s performance as the Joker was subsequently hailed as one of the greatest in history, and earned him a posthumous Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. The precedents that Nolan set with The Dark Knight ensured that his follow-up would be one of the most anticipated films in history. While it would’ve been easy to replicate the narrative model of its predecessor, The Dark Knight Rises was an epic blockbuster that examined the battle for Gotham City’s soul.

If The Dark Knight felt like a relentless crime thriller inspired by the cinema of Michael Mann, The Dark Knight Rises explored the spiritual and emotional journey of Christian Bale’s version of Bruce Wayne. By connecting to the storyline involving the League of Shadows first introduced in Batman Begins, Nolan and his brother Jonathan Nolan were able to bring their interpretation of the caped crusader to a satisfying conclusion. Although the film satisfied story beats that they had established at the beginning of the trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises drew inspiration from Charles Dickens’ classic novel A Tale of Two Cities.

'The Dark Knight Rises' Was Inspired by Charles Dickens' 'A Tale of Two Cities'

Set eight years after Batman took the fall for the crimes committed by Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart), The Dark Knight Rises examines a version of Gotham City that has managed to put its violent past behind it. Although Commissioner Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman) is facing internal pressure to step down from his position within law enforcement, the young cop John Blake (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) makes note that the city is experiencing much less crime than it has in generations. However, the fragile peace is uprooted when the League of Shadows’ new leader, Bane (Tom Hardy), leads an all-out assault and frees Gotham City’s prisoners. The revolution of Gotham City’s criminal class in The Dark Knight Rises mirrors the French Revolution as depicted in A Tale of Two Cities.

Dickens’ novel examined how it could be possible for one city to have two classes of citizens with completely different experiences. A Tale of Two Cities focuses on the experiences of both a wealthy family and an English barrister in the years leading up to the Reign of Terror, in which revolutionaries stormed Paris and executed members of the upper class. Jonathan Nolan cited the sociopolitical themes of A Tale of Two Cities as a primary influence on The Dark Knight Rises. He stated that when looking for “good literature for inspiration,” he found that A Tale of Two Cities was a "harrowing portrait of a relatable, recognizable civilization that completely folded to pieces with the terrors." Similar to the French revolutionaries who were infuriated by the wealth gap, the prisoners Bane frees in The Dark Knight Rises have a justified reason for their anger; it is revealed to them that Dent’s crimes were covered up, and that his entire legacy is itself a lie.

'The Dark Knight Rises' Mirrors the End of 'A Tale of Two Cities'

One of the most striking moments in Dickens’ classic novel is its final chapter, in which the unlikely hero Sydney Carton sacrifices himself to the guillotine. Despite being in love with the wealthy woman, Lucie Manette, Carton agrees to step in for her lover, Charles Darnay, whom he looks identical to. As if to solidify the connection between the two works, Gordon reads the final passage of A Tale of Two Cities at Bruce’s funeral at the end of The Dark Knight Rises. Similar to Carton, Bruce commits the ultimate act of self-sacrifice because his heroism is never exposed to the citizens of Gotham City. While they know that Batman saved them from the nuclear weapon that Bane planned to unleash on the city, Bruce’s identity is known only by a group of select individuals. Thankfully, Bruce has a somewhat happier ending than Carton, as a final moment teases that he has escaped with Anne Hathaway’s Selina Kyle.

A Tale of Two Cities has been adapted to the big screen several times, beginning with a silent film in 1911. However, a 1935 adaptation starring Ronald Colman as Carton and Donald Woods as Darnay is perhaps the most acclaimed version, and earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture.

What Else Inspired 'The Dark Knight Rises'?

In addition to A Tale of Two Cities, The Dark Knight Rises draws heavily from Frank Miller’s acclaimed graphic novel The Dark Knight Returns. First released in 1986, the story follows an older version of Batman who returns to Gotham City after an absence to battle a new class of ruthless criminals. The story drew praise for its brutality and acknowledgment of Bruce’s advancing age, which made him a more vulnerable character. Hailed as one of the greatest Batman comics of all-time, The Dark Knight Returns was later adapted into a two-part animated film from DC Animation featuring Peter Weller as Batman.

Additionally, The Dark Knight Rises evoked comparisons to the Occupy Wall Street movement. The political movement of 2011 involved protestors attempting to populate New York City’s financial sector in order to spread awareness of economic inequality; the group’s tactics mirrored those taken by Bane when attempting to take down Gotham City’s wealthy class. Despite the similarities, David S. Goyer has dismissed the connection as pure “luck.”

The Dark Knight Rises is available to stream on Max in the U.S.

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