‘Dark Knight Rises’: Batman Actor Christian Bale Explains Ending [Spoilers]

Sometimes, films intentionally have convoluted or “open endings.” They leave the audience to infer, or insert their own ending. Christopher Nolan is famous for having very complex films that occasionally follow this style, such as Memento and The Prestige. Christian Bale starred in the rival magician mystery thriller The Prestige, so if there were anyone that could help you understand a Christopher Nolan flick, obviously Bale is the man for the job.

The Dark Knight Rises has had much criticism, and more than a few have critiqued its message, whether for the message itself or the fact that the message itself was confusing. If the ending of The Dark Knight Rises has been tickling your subconscious, or keeping you up at night, Christian Bale just opened up and gave a little insight on exactly what happened on screen.

Uproxx reports that the Dark Knight himself, Christian Bale, has finally revealed what the ending means, and whether Bruce Wayne is alive. Slashfilm transcribed an audio interview with Christian Bale.

“He was content with me being alive and left because that was the life he always wanted for him. I find it very interesting and with most films, I tend to say ‘It’s what the audience thinks it is.’ My personal opinion? No, it was not a dream. That was for real and he was just delighted that finally he had freed himself from the privilege, but ultimately the burden of being Bruce Wayne.”

For those who have followed the Dark Knight trilogy, as imagined by Christopher Nolan and played by Christian Bale, Alfred Pennyworth had always wanted a different life for Bruce Wayne. In fact, earlier in the same film, he left the Dark Knight for that very reason. He wanted him to move on to a safe, normal, happy life.

The reason this question came up is the fact that there were rumors floating around as to how The Dark Knight Rises actually ended. As Digital Spy explains, many felt it was “ambiguous,” with some theorizing that it was merely Alfred’s idealized dream that Bruce Wayne was living happily ever after. Obviously, when the Dark Knight himself tells you that theory is false, it obviously is.

If the mystery you wanted answered was what Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s entrance into the Batcave meant for the future, unfortunately that still remains open. If you wanted to know whether Batman is truly retired in the Christopher Nolan Dark Knight universe, sadly, that remains mostly unanswered.

So what are your thoughts? Did this solve an ongoing mystery for you, or would you have preferred something explained? Leave your thoughts below.

[Image Via Creative Commons (Re-sized from original)]