By: Katey Rich

Only for a movie as hugely anticipated as The Dark Knight Rises can the vaguest bit of information about the ending be considered spoiler-worthy. But just as fans of Harry Potter spent years pondering what J.K. Rowling meant when she said she had already written the last line of the last book, screenwriter David S. Goyer’s recent hints about the ending of The Dark Knight Rises— and the finale of Christopher Nolan’s trilogy of Batman films– can make your brain spin. From Empire Magazine (as transcribed by Screen Rant), here’s what he had to say about how long he and Christopher Nolan have known exactly how their Batman trilogy will end:

“The final scene of The Dark Knight Rises is exactly [the] scene we talked about [when Christopher Nolan and I started the trilogy withBatman Begins]. It remained completely unchanged. We both knew in our hearts that we were onto something special. I have to tell you, having finally seen everything strung together a little while ago and seeing that scene, I got a complete lump in my throat.”

Alright, so far so good– these two planned way ahead, and they pulled it off, and we can all consider it a good thing. Now here’s where things get a little spoilery, maybe. The Empire interviewer suggested to Goyer that that long-imagined ending might be hugely anti-commercial, given that Nolan and Goyer are wrapping up their time with the Bat and can really leave things wherever they want. Rather than play coy, Goyer went right for it:

“Yup! That’s why it’s ****ing exciting!”

For as long as Nolan’s dark universe for Batman has been clear, there’s been speculation that he might be willing to kill the hero at the end of his run as director– after all, what better way to explore the lawlessness and despair of Gotham City than to kill the hero we all rely on? Of course, the studio has already made plans for more Batman movies once Nolan steps away, but if you know comics you know that they can easily kill Batman in the Nolan universe and bring him back, good as new, in another series of films.

But would Nolan actually do it? I still have a hard time believing he’d take joy in killing off the character he’s devoted nearly a decade to exploring, regardless of what the studio wants. But maybe that’s just wishful thinking from someone who generally wants her superheroes a little less dark. Let us know in the comments what you think Goyer might be referring to, but also embrace the fact that there’s absolutely no way we’ll know for sure until the movie finally comes to theaters July 20.

Source: Cinema Blend