In 2012, The Dark Knight Rises brought the end to Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy. The Caped Crusader saved Gotham from nuclear destruction while faking his death, leaving the city in the capable (probably) hands of its new protector, officer John Blake. The ending of the film not very subtly implied that John would be taking over the role of Batman. Long before it was announced that Ben Affleck would become the next person to don the cape and cowl, fans were wondering if there would be a film depicting Blake in his new role.

Eric Eisenberg from Cinema Blend had a chance to talk to John Blake himself, Joseph Gordon-Levitt while promoting the upcoming Snowden. They talked about the trilogy, as well as if there were plans for a fourth Nolan-helmed film. Here’s what Gordon-Levitt said:

“I know we’re all used to the sort of Marvel movies, which are just kind of endless series. They don’t really have a beginning, middle, and end. But I think Nolan very much thought of that movie as a conclusion, and there’s a theme that runs through all three of those movies that begins in the first movie, runs through the second movie and it concludes in that moment where he says that Batman is more than a man, Batman is a symbol. And so to have another man other than Bruce Wayne kind of becoming Batman at the end of that trilogy, I think that’s the perfect ending to that story.”

While I am not sure about “perfect” (I am still baffled how Batman, let alone Gotham, was able to avoid any sort of nuclear fallout), it’s hard to argue his point about the overall theme throughout the trilogy. Bruce took on the mantle of Batman to instill fear in criminals, as well as inspire the citizens of Gotham that they no longer had to be afraid. That continued with The Dark Knight, with some citizens taking it too far (does anyone have some spare hockey pads lying around?). Ending the film by turning the mantle over to someone he trusted made the notion of Batman being a symbol come full circle. Plot holes of The Dark Knight Rises aside, thematically I think Joseph is right on the money.

So what do you think? Do you agree with Joseph about the ending to the trilogy? Would you have liked to have seen John Blake’s adventures as Batman (or Nightwing, maybe. We’ll never know)? Let me know on Twitter or find a ruby the size of a tangerine in the comments below.

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Images: Warner Brothers