Michael Caine has been discussing his own interpretation of the final scenes of Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises , in which he starred as Alfred Pennyworth.
Various cinematic scholars and film critics have released their own readings of the film’s final moments, but Caine doesn’t believe that Nolan intended to be ambiguous with his conclusion.
For those of you who haven’t seen The Dark Knight Rises , please look away now, because here is your obligatory spolier alert. The final scene shows Alfred sat in a Florence cafe, when he spots Christian Bale’s Bruce Wayne, who had supposedly died, sitting down for lunch with Anne Hathaway’s, Selina Kyle. Viewers have speculated that this scene took place in the grief-stricken mind of Alfred, who had just watched Bruce been buried.
But Caine states , “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.”
The elderly actor also revealed that he would return to the franchise, regardless of who was directing it. “I said to Chris, ‘If they do it again and they ask me to be the butler, I’m going to do it,’” added Caine. “He said, ‘I want 10 per cent.’”
The Dark Knight Rises went on to gross over $1 billion at the global box office, whilst Nolan’s work on the franchise has been rightly lauded. What do you think happened at the end of The Dark Knight Rises?
