The Dark Knight occupied a vague political space when it opened 15 years ago on July 18, 2008. Director Christopher Nolan had long avoided “specific messages” or themes with his Batman movies, but admitted that he tried to imbue them with concerns about “the threat to civilization that we take for granted.” That intention came through in The Dark Knight, which has been hailed as a quintessential post-9/11 blockbuster through the film’s unflinching depiction of its terrorist villain, and its moral quandaries over whether the ends justify the means. A decade and a half later, The Dark Knight’s greatest threat has evolved from terrorism to technology and homegrown tyranny.
