How big could a hypothetical Dark Knight 4 be if Nolan and Bale both returned?
I know it will never happen, and I’m not sure if a post like this is allowed. The trilogy was already concluded, and then Nolan got angry and cut ties with Warner Bros after they released Tenet in theatres during the pandemic, and Bale said he would never play Batman again unless Nolan was involved and had a good idea.
But let’s assume the worst case scenario happens and both the DCU and the Reeves Batverse fail, so with nothing else left, Warner Bros offers Nolan and Bale whatever they want to come back and do another one.
I know the superhero genre is in a really big slump, but Nolan’s Batman trilogy are great movies that still hold up and people have a lot of nostalgia for them.
Assuming Nolan and Bale actually returned, how much potential could it have in the modern box office climate for superhero movies? Could it still be a potential $1 billion+ earner, or would people not really care since they are tired of superhero movies and the trilogy already ended perfectly?
Posted Jul 5, 2026, 9:02 PM UTC