So this is one of my most anticipated movies ever.  The Dark Knight was my favourite movie of all time, and I can't wait to see how Nolan caps off the trilogy.

Here's my big prediction: Bruce Wayne dies, but Batman lives on.  Reasons?

1. There has been so much allusion toward death in the advertising.

   -The shattered cowl in the posters.

   -Bane to Bruce Wayne: "When Gotham is in ashes, you have my permission to die.

   -Catwoman: "You've given them everything." Bruce:  "Not everything.  Not yet."

2. Someone else can take on the cowl, thus ensuring that Batman literally 'rises' after a seeming death.

   -Joseph Gordon-Levitt's new character, John Blake, seems particularly suspect.  They've made a big deal in this series about how Gordon's the only good cop on the force.  Seems a bit conspicuous that they'd introduce a cop who is a new character to the Bat-verse that genuinely wants to do good without having him take on some greater role.

3. Consider Ra's Al Ghul's words in Batman Begins:

"A vigilante is just a man lost in the scramble for his own gratification. He can be destroyed, or locked up. But if you make yourself more than just a man, if you devote yourself to an ideal, and if they can't stop you, then you become something else entirely. 

   -This quote has been featured heavily in the ads, and Liam Neeson has been rumored to return.

    -Bruce Wayne (the man) can be destroyed.  The legacy of Batman (one of hope and perseverance) is much more enduring.  So, could Bruce sacrifice himself to save 'Batman'?

That's my big prediction for the movie.  Agree?  Disagree?  Do I deserve to die in a fiery monorail crash?  Come at me, bros :D

Bonus prediction!  Could the Riddler show up in this movie?  I got this one from an article on IGN.  Remember Coleman Reese from Dark Knight?  The Wayne Enterprises staffer who was smart enough to figure out Batman's true identity?  Coleman Reese.  Mister Reese.  Mysteries.  Sounds suspiciously similar to Riddler's known alter ego, Mr. E. Nigma, no? ;)

Ah, but there's the rub, good sir.  Is there a way for him to do more for Gotham in death than in life?  I certainly don't think his death would just come from some enemy finishing him off in a fight.  He would see it coming, and accept it.  Notice the "You've given them everything/Not everything, not yet" quote.  This suggests to me that Bruce is at least willing to sacrifice either himself or his secret identity if it would work to Gotham's betterment.  Surely Nolan's a strong enough filmmaker to still give us a triumphant ending despite this outcome?

Consider this hypothetical situation:

Bane knows Batman is Bruce (confirmed by the trailers already).  In the comics, Bane's primary motivation was to prove that the bat could be beaten--this was literally the reason the character was created.  If he knows Bruce is  Batman, he would naturally think he's killed 'Batman' if Bruce dies.  Suppose Batman realises Bane is too strong and smart to beat by conventional methods, and his reign will only end once 'Batman' is dead.  So Bruce willingly marches to his own death, finally giving the city 'everything', but his legend--the Batman legend--inspires Gotham to overcome Bane and take itself back from the darkness it has been plagued by for decades.

We get a deep, fitting end to our movie--after all, once Rachel died Bruce had no other reason to live than to inspire people.  And Ra's gets proven correct--a MAN can be killed, but a legend is eternal.

i only have one prediction ... it's going to be fucking amazing!!

Domestic gross: $500m
Foreign gross: $850m

Total worldwide gross: $1,350m

My theory (as I am re-reading the entire "No Man's Land" storyline in the comics:

Batman is going to be out of action. A secondary character (John Blake) sees that Gotham City needs a Batman and attempts to fill the shoes. Bane comes in and kicks all kinds of ass in his attempts to take down Batman, including freeing all of the prisoners from Arkham Asylum (as he did in Knightfall). Bane crosses paths with John Blake and doesn't think he's a worthy opponent (much like he did when he crossed Azrael in Knightfall). Also, Bane has deduced that Bruce Wayne is Batman--possibly because of that guy who figured out Batman's ID in the last movie OR Ra's Al Ghul. Remember, Bane was once Ra's Al Ghul's chosen one after Batman refused the role.

Hear's where "No Man's Land" comes in: In the trailers, they show us the bridges to Gotham City being blown. This happened in that storyline as Gotham was cut off from the rest of the world. Everybody was fighting for control of the city, including the police. Meanwhile, Batman was nowhere to be found. Gotham was condemned after a disease outbreak (caused by Ra's Al Ghul) and an earthquake (Caused by God). I see an earthquake in the trailers--or something that makes a football field fall apart--and I suspect this is Ra's work in this movie.

Anyway, in Knightfall, Bane broke Batman. Batman's replacement (Azrael) rose up to defeat Bane. Batman's replacement turned bad and Batman had to return to take down "Az-Bats". Of course, that story took place over the course of two years.

For the movie, I think it will go like this: Bane comes in, beats down Azrael (or whoever John Blake is going to be). We find out that Ra's Al Ghul is actually behind everything. Batman comes back to take down Bane.

These movies also have a history of giving us the surprise twist. We saw Scarecrow and Ducard in Batman Begins previews but then, there was the huge revelation that Ra's Al Ghul was the main villain and that Ducard WAS Ra's Al Ghul.

In Dark Knight Returns, we saw that Joker was the main villain but then there was the surprise that Two Face was a major player.

I think the tradition is going to continue. Either we're going to get an evil version of Batman (Hopefully Azrael) as the surprise villain or Ra's Al Ghul is going to be the main villain. For some reason, despite all of the promos showing Bane--possibly my favorite villain just because of Knightfall--I think he's not going to be the main villain of the movie. It wouldn't surprise me if he was taken down early or if he were just working for somebody bigger or if he's the catalyst to a bigger storyline that none of us are expecting.

Interesting!  I haven't read the comics very much, so I didn't know that.  That strikes me as a storyline that is very plausible for this movie.  Especially when you hear Bane say "I'm Gotham's reckoning" in the trailers.

I don't know if I would agree that they'd go with the 'breaking the villains out of Arkham' story this time, though.  Thematically it would make sense.  However, they'd have to explain why Joker wasn't among them, since they went to great pains in TDK to show that he was locked up instead of killed.  And I don't think Nolan wants to go anywhere near that topic.

The thing that made me think Bane is going to break out the prisoners is that early trailer that showed all of these inmates walking out of a prison with machine guns in their hands.

Of course, my guesses leave plenty of things wide open.  What role will Catwoman play?  What about the obvious scene of Bane standing over a brutalized Bruce Wayne?  What is that prison-like place that Bruce Wayne winds up in?

I can't wait to see the movie and find out what I got right and what I got very, very wrong!

Aww.... I thought this would be Sales Predictions. I am disappointed!

Anywho, I wouldn't really know about story predictions as I haven't watched the first Dark Knight Movie. Though, I know, Anne Hathaway will be hot.

NintendoPie said: Aww.... I thought this would be Sales Predictions. I am disappointed! Anywho, I wouldn't really know about story predictions as I haven't watched the first Dark Knight Movie. Though, I know, Anne Hathaway will be hot.

My prediction:  Whatever Avengers made--double that.