The ending of The Dark Knight Rises has been called open-ended, ambiguous, and confusing among other things. Of course, none of those adjectives apply if you take what was seen on screen as directly accurate, which is exactly what Michael Caine says should be done.
In an interview with Hero Complex Caine put any speculation about the ending to rest. Check out his comment below.
“They were there… They were real. There was no imagination. They were real and he was with Anne, the cat lady, and I was happy ever after for him as I told him during the picture.”
So there it is, straight from Alfred himself, seeing Selina Kyle and Bruce Wayne wasn’t his imagination, meaning Batman survived the bomb’s explosion (which was obvious enough from the autopilot line anyway).
Perhaps the open ending of Inception is the reason that fans thought the ending of The Dark Knight Rises might have been more complex than it appeared. However, just because Christopher Nolan has ended his movies ambiguously before doesn’t mean that every movie of his has to be less than direct.
Caine also shed light on why he took the role and how it differed from what he thought playing a butler would involve. Read his initial reaction to Nolan offering him the role below.
“I thought to myself, I’m a bit old for Batman, so, I said, ‘Who am I going to play?’ He said, ‘The butler.’ I immediately thought I’ll be spending the entire series saying, ‘Dinner is served’ and ‘Would you like a coffee?’ I thought, well, I’ll read it and turn it down… (After actually reading the script) I thought it was wonderful, He was the foster father of young Bruce Wayne whose parents got killed and started to bring him up. I thought this is a great director. He’s never made a big-budget movie like this and [Warner Bros. has] given him a shot. I thought, I’m going to go with him and I’ll see how we get on.”
Agreeing to play Alfred was definitely a great call by Caine. He was nearly perfect in the role, providing a depth to the character that had never been present in previous versions of Batman. With anyone other than Caine in the role the films may not have been as successful as they ultimately were.
Caine was also asked whether he’d be willing to reprise the role for Justice League. He said he’s ready to go if asked.
“I said to Chris, ‘If they do it again and they ask me to be the Butler, I’m going to do it,’ He said, ‘I want 10%.’”
What do you think of Caine’s comments? Is his word law when it comes to the ending of The Dark Knight Rises? And would you like to see Caine in The Justice League? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.