THE DARK KNIGHT RISES by Jonathan Nolan and ..., Lecture notes of Construction

Download THE DARK KNIGHT RISES by Jonathan Nolan and ... and more Lecture notes Construction in PDF only on Docsity! THE DARK KNIGHT RISES by Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan Story by Christopher Nolan & David S. Goyer Based upon characters appearing in comic books published by DC Comics Batman created by Bob Kane Transcribed to PDF from: "The Dark Knight Trilogy - The Complete Screenplays" Published July 2012 by Faber & Faber Ltd. (UK) In memory of the victims of the tragedy in Aurora, CO, on July 20, 2012. FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY T H E D A R K K N I G H T R I S E S BLACK SCREEN. GORDON (V.O) Harvey Dent was needed. He was everything Gotham has been crying out for. He was...a hero. Not the hero we deserved - the hero we needed. Nothing less than a knight, shining... The sound of cracking. Splintering. A shape appears, in ice. The shape of a BAT. The ice disintegrates... EXT. GOTHAM STREET - DAY Gordon stands before a massive picture of Harvey Dent. GORDON But I knew Harvey Dent. I was...his friend. And it will be a very long time before someone inspires us the way he did. Gordon, choked with emotion, gathers the papers of his eulogy. I believed in Harvey Dent. And we FADE TO BLACK. CUT TO: Racing along a cratered dirt road, and we are - INT. LAND CRUISER JOSTLING OVER UNEVEN TERRAIN - DAY Three Hooded Men guarded by East European Militia. A third Militia drives. Next to him is a nervous, bespectacled man. EXT. AIRSTRIP, EASTERN EUROPE - DAY An airstrip overlooking a grey city rocked by artillery fire. A bland CIA Operative, flanked by Special Forces Men, stands in front of a commuter plane. CIA Man watches the Land Cruiser pull up, hard. The Militia Men jump out of the vehicle. The Driver shoves the bespectacled man in front of the CIA Man. 4. BANE Who we are does not matter. What matters is our plan. CIA MAN (fascinated) If I pull this off, will you die? BANE It would be extremely painful. CIA MAN You’re a big guy - BANE For you. CIA MAN (unnerved) Was being caught part of your plan? BANE Of course. Dr. Pavel refused our offer in favor of yours. We had to know what he told you about us. DR. PAVEL Nothing! I said nothing! CIA MAN Why not just ask him? BANE He would not have told us. CIA MAN You have methods. BANE Him, I need healthy. You present no such problem. CIA Man laughs for the Special Forces’ benefit. A heavy bass tone is rising. The Sergeant looks out the window. EXT. SKIES OVER MOUNTAIN RANGE - CONTINUOUS The commuter plane is dwarfed by a massive transport plane looming over it, dangerously close... 5. INT. MAIN CABIN, COMMUTER PLANE - CONTINUOUS The plane lurches. The noise is building. SERGEANT Sir? CIA MAN Well congratulations, you got yourselves caught. What’s the next step of your master plan? BANE Crashing this plane... EXT. MOUNTAINS - CONTINUOUS The ramp of the transport opens... Four men leap out on tethers - dropping towards the commuter plane, two each side... INT. MAIN CABIN, COMMUTER PLANE - CONTINUOUS The Spacial Forces react to the turbulence from the plane above. CIA Man looks at Bane. BANE (rising) With no survivors. A Special Forces soldier spins around - an Armed Man is outside the window. Bang - EXT. SKIES OVER MOUNTAIN RANGE - CONTINUOUS Two men shoot through the windows, the other two attach grapples to the fuselage - give the thumbs up - hoists start to pull and the tail of the commuter plane is lifted, unnaturally. INT. COCKPIT, COMMUTER PLANE - CONTINUOUS The Pilots battle the controls as the plane tilts forward. 6. INT. MAIN CABIN, COMMUTER PLANE - CONTINUOUS Like lightning, Bane has the CIA Man is his handcuffed arms, legs wrapped around a seat back, The entire cabin upends. Tumbling chaos - Soldiers falling - Bane cracks CIA Man’s neck and drops him onto the Sergeant - they tumble down the plane, smashing into the cockpit door with a terminal thud. Dr. Pavel, strapped in, pushes against the seat in front of him - the plane vibrates, trying to tear itself apart. EXT. ATLAS MOUNTAINS - CONTINUOUS The men climb the tail of the smaller plane as it dangles helplessly above the mountains. Its wings shear off. INT. MAIN CABIN, COMMUTER PLANE - CONTINUOUS Bane breaks his handcuffs as if they were plastic, then opens his legs and drops down the cabin, somersaulting gracefully and using his arms to stop himself halfway down, by Dr. Pavel. EXT. SKIES OVER MOUNTAIN RANGE - CONTINUOUS The men attach explosives to the tail, then jump away, swinging out as the tail explodes. INT. MAIN CABIN, COMMUTER PLANE - CONTINUOUS An explosion takes off the rear door of the cabin - the Armed Men drop through the smoke on cables. A body bag is lowered into the cabin. Bane lies it on the seat backs next to Dr. Pavel and unzips it to reveal a body the same age and build as Dr. Pavel. Bane rips Dr. Pavel’s sleeve - pulls out a length of surgical tubing - pushes a needle into Dr. Pavel’s arm - runs the tube to the body’s arm... Dr. Pavel watches, horrified, as Bane starts compressions on the body’s chest, drawing Dr. Pavel’s blood across the tube and into the body... An Armed Man pulls Hooded Man 1 up through the cabin and out. Bane stops Hooded Man 2. 9. FOLEY No one has. Not in years. MAYOR (O.S) He can tell you about the bad old days, when the criminals and corrupt ran this town with such a tight grasp that people put their faith in a murderous thug in a mask and a cape. A thug who showed his true nature when he betrayed the trust of this great man - (Turns to picture of Dent.) And murdered him in cold blood. The Congressman watches a tray of canapés breeze past, then grabs the ass of the maid carrying them. She freezes. CONGRESSMAN Sweetheart, not so fast with the chow. MAID (turns, tight smile) Shrimp balls? The Congressman grabs two. The Maid moves off. The Congressman glances down at Gordon’s papers. MAYOR (O.S) Jim Gordon can tell you the truth about Harvey Dent... CONGRESSMAN Jesus, Gordon, is that your speech? We’re gonna be here all night. GORDON Maybe the truth about Harvey isn’t so simple, Congressman. MAYOR (O.S) But I’ll let him tell you himself - Commissioner Gordon? Applause. Gordon approaches the mike. Looks down at his long speech. Thinks. GORDON The truth...? INSERT CUT: Harvey Dent, face half destroyed, threatens Gordon’s son with a handgun. 10. Gordon surveys the audience. Deciding. I have written a speech telling the truth about Harvey Dent... Gordon folds up his speech. Maybe the time isn’t right... Gordon stuffs the papers inside his jacket. The Congressman mutters under his breath. CONGRESSMAN Thank Christ for that... GORDON Maybe right now all you need to know is that there are a thousand inmates in Blackgate Prison as a direct result of the Dent Act. These are violent criminals, essential cogs in the organized crime machine that terrorized Gotham for so long. Maybe, for now, all I should say about Harvey Dent’s death is this...it has not been for nothing. The figure on the balcony turns back into the mansion. People clap as Gordon leaves the mike. Gordon approaches Foley. GORDON The second shift reports in? FOLEY On your desk. But you should put in some more time with the Mayor - GORDON That’s your department. Gordon heads for the line of town cars in the gravel drive. CONGRESSMAN Anyone shown him the crime stats? FOLEY He goes by his gut, and it continues to bother him, whatever the numbers. CONGRESSMAN Must be popular with the wife. 11. FOLEY Not really. She took the kids and moved to Cleveland. CONGRESSMAN He’ll have plenty of time for visits. Mayor’s dumping him in the spring. FOLEY Really? He’s a hero. CONGRESSMAN War hero. This is peacetime. Stay smart, the job’s yours. INT. KITCHENS, WAYNE MANOR - MOMENTS LATER Our Maid dives into the bustle of Wayne Manor below stairs - Caterers and Maids, Wait Staff. She overhears another Maid. MAID 2 They say he never leaves the East Wing. MAID 3 I heard he had an accident - that he’s disfigured. The other Maids signal her to be quiet. All the chatter has died. Alfred has entered the kitchen. ALFRED Mr. Till, why are your people using the main stairs? Alfred places a glass of water on a tray next to a covered plate. Picks up the tray, looks around the chaotic kitchen. ALFRED Where’s Mrs. Bolton? MAID She’s up at the bar, sir. Can I help? Alfred looks at the Maid. Hands her a key and the tray. ALFRED The East drawing room. Unlock the door, place the tray on the table, lock the door again. Nothing more. 14. MAID It’s just that...nobody sees you... Wayne approaches slowly. He nods at her pearl necklace. WAYNE That’s a beautiful necklace. Reminds me of the one that belonged to my mother. It can’t be the same one - her pearls are in this safe - He reaches out with his cane to press open a panel on the bureau, revealing a safe door... - which the manufacturer clearly explained is uncrackable. ...which swings open with an awkward creak. MAID Oops. No one told me it was uncrackable. The Maid suddenly seems more confident. Older. WAYNE I’m afraid I can’t let you take those. She smiles at him. Moves towards him. MAID Look, you wouldn’t hit a woman any more than I would beat up a cripple. She kicks his cane from under him, smashes him down. Of course, sometimes exceptions have to be made. The Maid vaults onto the bureau and up to a high window. Goodnight, Mr. Wayne. She flips backwards through the window. Wayne smiles, then rocks forward on his good leg and rises with athletic grace. He looks at the safe, notices something. Powder... EXT. DRIVE, WAYNE MANOR - CONTINUOUS Moving toward the line of town cars, the Maid pulls off her white apron, cuffs and collar, leaving a black dress and pearls. A Valet hurries to open a car door for her - she slips into a town car...beside the Congressman. 15. MAID Can I have a ride? The Congressman, a little tipsy, looks at her hungrily. CONGRESSMAN You read my mind. INT. EAST WING, WAYNE MANOR - LATER Alfred enters, to find Wayne kneeling at the safe. ALFRED Miss Tate was asking to see you again. WAYNE She’s very persistent. ALFRED And quite lovely, in case you were wondering. WAYNE I wasn’t. ALFRED What are you doing? WAYNE Examining print dust. We’ve been robbed. ALFRED And this is your idea of raising the alarm? WAYNE (shrugs) She took the pearls. Tracking device and all. ALFRED She? WAYNE One of the maids, perhaps you should stop letting them in this side of the house. 16. ALFRED Perhaps you should learn to make your own bed, then. Why are you dusting for prints? WAYNE I’m not. She was. EXT. ROOFTOP, MAJOR CRIMES UNIT - CONTINUOUS Gordon brings a stack of files against the air duct, settles to read. Next to him is a rusty, broken searchlight. YOUNG VOICE (O.S.) Sir? A young Cop is standing there. This is Blake. BLAKE I didn’t want to bother you up here, but they’re looking for you. GORDON What’s the problem, son? BLAKE Congressman Gilly’s wife’s been calling. He hasn’t made it home from the Wayne Foundation event. GORDON That’s a job for the police? BLAKE Sir, I’ve been a cop for a year and I’ve only logged half a dozen arrests. When you and Dent cleaned the streets you cleaned ’em good. Pretty soon we’ll be chasing overdue library books. Gordon smiles at this. Blake looks at his stack of files. BLAKE But here you are. Like we’re still at war... GORDON Old habits. 19. Newspaper headlines appear - THE CAT STRIKES AGAIN, POLICE SUSPECT ’CAT’ BURGLAR IN JEWEL HEIST. WAYNE She’s good, but the ground is shrinking beneath her feet. ALFRED We should send the police before she fences the pearls. WAYNE She won’t. She likes them too much. And they weren’t what she was after. ALFRED What was she after? WAYNE My fingerprints. There was printer toner mixed with graphite on the safe. Gives you a good pull, and it’s untraceable. ALFRED Fascinating. Maybe you should exchange notes over coffee. WAYNE Now you’re trying to set me up with a jewel thief? ALFRED At this point, sir, I would set you up with a chimpanzee if I thought it would bring you back into the world. WAYNE There’s nothing out there for me. ALFRED And that’s the problem. You hung up the cape and cowl, but never moved on. You won’t get out there and find a life. Find someone - WAYNE (bitter) I did find someone, Alfred. 20. ALFRED I know. And then you lost them. That’s part of living, sir. But you’re not living - you’re waiting. Hoping for things to go bad again. Wayne says nothing. Remember when you left Gotham? Before all this. Before Batman. Seven years you were gone. Seven years I waited. Hoping that you wouldn’t come back. Wayne looks at Alfred. Not understanding. Every year I took my holiday. I’d go to Florence. There’s a café by the Arno... Any fine evening I would sit there and order a Fernet Branca... INSERT CUT: Alfred seated in a café sipping his drink... I had a fantasy. I liked to imagine that one day I’d look across the tables, and see you. Sitting there with your wife. Perhaps some kids. You wouldn’t say anything to me, or me to you, but we’d both know...that you’d made it. That you were happy. INSERT CUT: Alfred spots a couple at another table and looks closer, hopeful. But they are strangers. I never wanted you to come back to Gotham. I knew there was nothing there for you but pain and tragedy, and I wanted more for you than that. I still do. Alfred leaves Wayne to his cave. His bats. EXT. WATER TREATMENT FACILITY - DAY Blake and his partner, Ross, get out of their patrol car. A DWP Man leads them down a long concrete trough. DWP MAN They wash up a couple times a month. More when in gets colder - homeless sheltering in the tunnels. We had to pull him to clear the basin, but other than that we didn’t touch him... 21. They come out by the catchment basin. Above the grille lies a body - a teenage boy. Blake looks down at him. Freezes. ROSS What? BLAKE Name’s Jimmy. He’s at St. Swithin’s. (Off look.) The boys home where I...I coach some ball. EXT. ST. SWITHIN’S HOME FOR BOYS - DAY Blake looks up at the shabby building. INT. ST. SWITHIN’S HOME FOR BOYS - MOMENTS LATER Blake is talking to Father Reilly. FATHER REILLY Jimmy hadn’t been here for months. BLAKE Why? FATHER REILLY You know why, Blake - he aged out. We don’t have the resources to keep boys on after sixteen - BLAKE The Wayne Foundation gives money for that - FATHER REILLY Not for two years now. BLAKE He has a brother here, right? FATHER REILLY Mark. I’ll tell him. BLAKE I’d like to, if that’s okay. 24. JEN Place is a little dead. SELINA (takes envelope, tense) It’ll liven up in a minute, trust me. JEN Everything okay? SELINA Great. Catch you later. Jen leaves. Stryver checks the envelope. Satisfied. SELINA It would’ve been a lot easier to just give me what we agreed. STRYVER We can’t have loose ends. And even in that dress, no one’s going to miss you. SELINA No. But my friend over there...? Stryver looks at Selina’s ’date’ drooling into a bowl of nuts at the bar - he looks familiar... SELINA Every cop in the city’s missing him. Across the bar, the TV on mute - MANHUNT FOR MISSING CONGRESSMAN. Stryver looks at Selina. STRYVER Cute. But they’re not gonna be looking in a place like this. SELINA I don’t know... You did just use his cell phone. Stryver glances down at the cell phone as - SCREECH - the Thugs look out the window at cop cars and SWAT units descending on the bar. Stryver glances at the window and - SMASH - Selina CRACKS his head against the table, grabs 25. Second Thug’s gun hand, flips over the table, firing at the other Thugs, who drop. The SWATs batter down the door. Selina crouches, cowering, screaming. SWAT It’s alright, Miss. Just stay down - The SWATs barrel past, chasing the remaining Thugs back through the bar and out into the back alley. Selina smiles. EXT. ALLEY BEHIND BAR - CONTINUOUS The Thugs turn and open up on the SWATs with automatic weapons. INT. DIVE BAR - CONTINUOUS Selina moves to the door. Spots the Congressman under the bar, clutching his bleeding leg. SELINA Keep some pressure on that, sweetheart. She adjusts her dress in the broken mirror behind the bar. Moves for the door. CONGRESSMAN (weak) Call me? EXT. DIVE BAR - CONTINUOUS Selina waltzes out - right into Blake. She feigns panic. SELINA There’s a man in there - he’s bleeding! BLAKE It’s okay, Miss. It’s okay. Blake helps Selina down onto the tailgate of a SWAT truck. He heads into the bar, weapon drawn. Selina slips behind the truck and into the night. 26. INT. DIVE BAR - CONTINUOUS Blake enters, gun drawn. Spots the Congressman. BLAKE (into radio) I’ve got the Congressman - bullet to the leg, but he’s okay. EXT. ALLEY BEHIND BAR - CONTINUOUS The SWATs return fire. The Thugs lay down cover fire, then race around a corner into a smaller passage. A cop car pulls up, blocking the mouth of the alley - Gordon jumps out, gun drawn. The SWATs approach the passage, massing on both corners tactically. The two corner SWATs exchange hand signals, counting down... They round the corner, aiming low and high. The passage is empty. The SWATs cover a fire escape, but Gordon spots at once - GORDON Manhole! He races to the manhole cover - SWATs wrench off the cover, Gordon grabs a flashlight from the nearest SWAT. GORDON You three, down with me. You two, head down to cover the next exit - SWAT Where -? GORDON Get the DWP down here, now! Gordon starts climbing down the ladder... INT. SEWERS - CONTINUOUS Gordon moves down the tunnel, flashlight low. Three SWATs fall in behind... 29. BANE I’m asking you. THUG 1 It’s the Police Commissioner. BANE And you brought him down here? THUG 2 We didn’t know what to do. We - BANE You panicked. And your weakness costs three lives. THUG 1 No, he’s alone - Bane flips the Thug’s chin up and to the side with a crack. Thug 1 drops. Bane turns to Thug 2. BANE Search him. Then I will kill you. The Thug, terrified, pulls out Gordon’s badge, wallet, gun...and the folded papers of the speech he did not read. Bane takes these one by one with quick glances. He stops at the papers. Unfolds them... As he reads, Gordon rolls off the steps, dropping into the rushing flow of water - gunshots ring out... THUG 2 He’s dead. Thug 2 trails off as Bane looks up from the papers... BANE Then show me his body. THUG 2 That water runs to any one of the outflows - we’d never find him. Bane turns to the Lead Mercenary. BANE Give me your GPS. Lead Mercenary hands him a GPS - Bane tucks it into Thug 2’s jacket, zips it up like a mother sending her kid to school. 30. BANE Follow him. THUG 2 Follow him? Bane shoots Thug 2, kicks him into the water. Turns to Lead Mercenary. BANE Track him. Make sure both bodies will not be found. Then brick up the south tunnel. EXT. WATER TREATMENT FACILITY - NIGHT Blake comes out to the catchment basin. He spots something stuck up against the grille, thrusts his hand into the raging waters - Gordon is there, alive. Just. Blake pulls him up onto the concrete, hoists him up, hurrying... INT. FRONT HALL, WAYNE MANOR - DAY Alfred opens the door to reveal Blake in his dirty uniform. BLAKE I need to see Brice Wayne. ALFRED I’m sorry, Mr. Wayne doesn’t take unscheduled calls. Even from police officers. BLAKE And if I go get a warrant, in the investigation of Harvey Dent’s murder? Would that still count as unscheduled? INT. STUDY, WAYNE MANOR - MOMENTS LATER Blake is sitting, drumming his leg, nervous. Wayne enters. WAYNE What can I do for you, officer? BLAKE Commissioner Gordon’s been shot. 31. WAYNE I’m sorry to hear that - BLAKE He chased a gunman down into the sewers. When I pulled him out he was babbling about an underground army. A masked man called ’Bane’. WAYNE Shouldn’t you be telling this to your superior officers? BLAKE I did. One of them asked if he saw any giant alligators down there. He needs you. He needs the Batman. WAYNE If Commissioner Gordon thinks I’m the Batman he must be in a bad way - BLAKE He doesn’t know or care who you are. (Off look.) But we’ve met before. When I was a kid. At the orphanage. See, my mom died when I was small. Car accident, I don’t really remember it. But a couple of years later my dad was shot over a gambling debt. I remember that just fine. (Looks at Wayne.) Not a lot of people who what it feels like, do they? To be angry. In your bones. People understand, foster parents understand. For a while. Then they expect the angry kid to do what he knows he can never do. To move on. To forget. Wayne stares at Blake. BLAKE So they stopped understanding and sent the angry kid to a boys’ home - St. Swithin’s. Used to be funded by the Wayne Foundation. See, I figured it out too late. You have to hide the anger. Practice smiling in the mirror. Like putting on a mask. You showed up one day in a cool car, pretty girl on your arm. (MORE) 34. MIRANDA I’m only asking for explanations because I think I can help. FOX I’ll pass along your request. Next time I see him. Miranda catches something in this. MIRANDA He doesn’t talk to you either? FOX Let’s just say that Bruce Wayne has his...eccentricities. MIRANDA (rising) Mr. Fox, are you aware that John Daggett is trying to acquire shares in Wayne Enterprises? FOX I was not. But it wouldn’t do him any good - Mr. Wayne still retains a clear majority. Miranda leaves. Fox moves into his office - stops. FOX Bruce Wayne. As I live and breathe. Wayne rises, pushing hard on his cane. FOX What brings you out of cryo-sleep Mr. Wayne? WAYNE I see you haven’t lost your sense of humor...even if you have lost most of my money. FOX Actually, you did that yourself. See, if you funnel the entire R and D budget for five years into a fusion project that you then mothball, your company is unlikely to thrive. 35. WAYNE Even with - FOX A wildly sophisticated CEO, yes. Wayne Enterprises is running out of time. And Daggett is moving in. WAYNE What’re my options? FOX If you’re not willing to turn your machine on - WAYNE I can’t, Lucius. FOX Then sit tight. Your majority keeps Daggett at arm’s length while we figure out a future for the energy program with Miranda Tate - she’s supported your project all the way. She’s smart, and quite lovely. WAYNE You too, Lucius? FOX We all just want what’s best for you, Bruce. Show her the machine. WAYNE I’ll think it over. FOX Anything else? WAYNE No, why? FOX These conversations always used to end with some...unusual requests. WAYNE I retired. FOX Let me show you some stuff, anyway. Fox hits a button - the bookcase opens into a hidden elevator. 36. INT. APPLIED SCIENCES - MOMENTS LATER Fox leads Wayne into the vast, gadget-filled space. They pass Tumblers with different weapons configurations... WAYNE I figured you’d have shut this place down. FOX It was always shut down, officially. WAYNE But all this new stuff? FOX After your father died, Wayne Enterprises set up fourteen different defense subsidiaries. I’ve spent years shuttering them and consolidating all the prototypes under one roof. My roof. WAYNE Why? FOX Stop them falling into the wrong hands. Besides, I thought someone might get some use out of them... Wayne shakes his head. FOX Sure I can’t tempt you to something? Pneumatic crampons? Infrared lenses? Least let me get you something for that leg. WAYNE It’s fine the use it gets these days. FOX Well, then I have just the thing for an eccentric billionaire who doesn’t like to walk... Fox opens a door - we glimpse a sleek vehicle. Wayne’s eyes light up. 39. WAYNE What if he doesn’t exist anymore? GORDON He must. He must. INT./EXT. LAMBORGHINI ON GOTHAM STREETS - NIGHT Wayne pulls up in front of a row of shabby subdivided town houses. Checks a tracking device. Jon, provocatively dressed, leads a Yuppie Banker-type in through a front door. INT. SELINA’S APARTMENT - CONTINUOUS Selina sits in a small room getting ready to go out. She picks up the pearls - hears a disturbance in the hall. JEN (O.S.) I told you - money first - YUPPIE (O.S.) Goddammit, you took my wallet! INT. STAIRWELL OUTSIDE SELINA’S APARTMENT - CONTINUOUS The Yuppie has Jen against the wall - he reaches back to hit her with an expensive wristwatch-clad arm. But Selina has grabbed his wrist with a powerful grip. SELINA Get out. YUPPIE She took my wallet! Selina twists his arm behind him in a blinding move. SELINA Now. She releases the Yuppie, who moves off down the stairs. Selina turns to Jen. Who is examining a wallet. SELINA I told you not to try it with the assholes, Jen. JEN They’re all assholes. 40. SELINA Okay, the assholes who hit. JEN I don’t know what he’s so upset about, he only had sixty bucks in here. SELINA Probably the watch. YOUNG WOMAN Watch? Selina opens her hand and gives Jen the Yuppie’s Rolex. EXT. SELINA’S BUILDING, OLD TOWN, GOTHAM - LATER Selina exits and hails a cab. Wayne watches her go. Then pulls out. Checking his tracker. EXT. MUSEUM, GOTHAM - LATER Town cars dispense Gotham society in tasteful masquerade. Wayne pulls up to the Valet. Paparazzi line the entrance. Wayne uses his cane to get out of his Lamborghini... PAPARAZZI Another stiff too old to climb out of his sports car. PAPARAZZI 2 No, that’s Bruce Wayne! Hey, Wayne, where you been hiding? Lenses swing onto Wayne, who pushes a button on his key fob - a pulse. The cameras die. Wayne heads to the door. WAYNE I’m not sure if my assistant put me on the guest list - GREETER Right through here, Mr. Wayne... 41. INT. MUSEUM - CONTINUOUS A lavish ball - the expressively attired dance under falling confetti... Even Bruce Wayne is struck by the ostentation. He spots Selina dancing with a deeply smitten Rich Twit. She wears a small, velvet pair of cat ears. And the pearls. MIRANDA (O.S) Bruce Wayne at a charity ball? Wayne turns to find Miranda Tate, amazed, a small mask her only concession to fancy dress. WAYNE Miss Tate, isn’t it? MIRANDA Even before you became a recluse, you never came to these things... WAYNE True. Proceeds go to the big fat spread, not the cause. It’s not about charity, it’s about feeding the ego of whichever society hag laid it on. MIRANDA Actually, this is my party, Mr. Wayne. WAYNE Oh. MIRANDA And the proceeds will go where they should, because I paid for the big fat spread myself. WAYNE That’s very generous of you. MIRANDA You have to invest to restore balance to the world. Take our clean-energy project... WAYNE Sometimes the investment doesn’t pay off. Sorry. 44. WAYNE Or our achievements. SELINA The mistakes stick better. Trust me. WAYNE You think that justifies stealing? SELINA I take what I need to from those who have more than enough. I don’t stand on the shoulders of people with less. WAYNE Robin Hood? SELINA I’d do more to help someone than most of the people in this room. Than you. WAYNE Maybe you’re assuming too much. SELINA Or maybe you’re being unrealistic about what’s really in your pants other than your wallet. WAYNE Ouch. SELINA You think all this can last? Wayne glances around at the sumptuous party. SELINA There’s a storm coming, Mr. Wayne. You and your friends better batten down the hatches, because when it hits you’re all gonna wonder how you ever thought you could live so large and leave so little to the rest of us. WAYNE Sounds like you’re looking forward to it. 45. SELINA I’m adaptable. WAYNE These pearls do look better on you then they did in my safe... Wayne rolls her into his shoulder - reaches up to the back of her neck, unclasps the necklace. But I still can’t let you keep them. The pearls slide off her neck into his other hand. Selina looks at him. Angry. Then kisses him, hard, and disappears into the crowd. Wayne’s cane reappears. RICH TWIT (annoyed) You scared her off. WAYNE Not likely. EXT. MUSEUM - MOMENTS LATER Wayne approaches the Valet. Pats down his pockets. WAYNE I must have lost my ticket - VALET Your wife said you were taking a cab home, sir. WAYNE My wife? INT./EXT. LAMBORGHINI RACING DOWN STREETS - CONTINUOUS Selina permits herself a little smile as she guns the engine. INT. ROLLS ROYCE - LATER Alfred watches in the mirror as Wayne climbs into the back. ALFRED Just you, sir? Wayne gives him a withering glare. (MORE) 46. ALFRED (cont’d) Don’t worry, Master Wayne. Takes a little time to get back into the swing of things. Wayne dials his phone. FOX (O.S.) This is Fox. WAYNE Remember those ’unusual requests’ I used to make? FOX (O.S.) I knew it! Up front, Alfred listens. Concerned. INT. BATCAVE - DAY Wayne pushes a button on a hi-tech carbon fiber brace strapped to his good knee - the brace tones. As Wayne starts moving his knee, bending, stretching, Alfred puts down a Thermos. ALFRED You’ve got the wrong leg, sir. WAYNE You start with the good limb so it learns your optimum muscle patterns. Wayne swaps the brace to his bad knee. Puts his weight on it - the knee bends, kicks. He sits again. Cautious. Now we tighten it up. Wayne gingerly pushes a button - the brace starts to shrink tight to his leg, digging in. Wayne grits his teeth. ALFRED It is terribly painful? WAYNE (gritted teeth) You’re welcome to try it, Alfred. ALFRED Happy watching, thank you, sir. Wayne shouts as the brace clicks home. He gets to his feet. 49. INT. STOCK EXCHANGE - EVENING A frenzy of trading on the packed floor... Two Traders sit on a shoeshine stand in the lobby. TRADER 2 You can’t short the stock because Bruce Wayne goes to a party - TRADER 1 Wayne coming back is change. Change is either good or bad. TRADER 2 On what basis? TRADER 1 I flipped a coin. Near the front entrance: a Food Delivery Guy is standing there negotiating with a Trader. TRADER 3 No. Rye. I told ’em rye. Trader 3 spots bad news on a screen. Alright, I’ll take it. He thrusts Food Guy a tip and grabs the bag, distracted... At the rear secure entrance: a Motorcycle Courier enters, wearing his helmet - a Female Security Guard gets in his face. FEMALE SECURITY GUARD Rookie! Lose the helmet! (Points at a camera.) We need faces for cameras. In the rest room: a Janitor mops the floor, shifting out of the way of two Traders who rush in to pee. At the shoeshine stand, Trader 1 waves a bill down at the man shining his shoes without a glance. Shoeshine Man takes the bill, then, as the Traders step off, he reaches into a gym bag and checks an automatic weapon. He clicks the slide home, then hoists the gym bag and heads for the trading floor. At the secure entrance: the Courier pulls off his helmet. The Female Security Guard’s eyes go wide. 50. In the rest room: the Janitor reaches into his bucket and pulls out a machine pistol in a Ziploc bag. Near the front entrance: Food Guy pulls an automatic pistol - clubs Trader 3 with it, pastrami flying. Shoeshine Man moves onto the floor, pulls out his weapon. Under the Courier’s helmet - a mask. Bane. He grabs the Female Security Guard and throws her into her colleagues, lashing out in four directions with rapidfire lethality. Shoeshine Man fires into the large trading screens. The floor erupts into a different frenzy - traders hit the deck, screaming. Bane moves onto the floor... TRADER 1 This is a stock exchange, there’s no money you can steal - He dries up as Bane stops. Turns to him... BANE Why else would you people be here? Bane grabs Trader 1 by the throat and drags him across the floor to an online automated trades terminal... He puts the man’s thumb onto the print reader - the screen lights up. BANE Enter your password. Or I send these men to your home. Trader 1, terrified, types in his password. Outside, sirens. Shoeshine man pulls out a USB drive with an antenna - plugs it into the computer - figures race across the screen... EXT. STOCK EXCHANGE - CONTINUOUS Police vehicles screech into the narrow street - construction vehicles are blocking. Blake argues with a burly Construction Worker. BLAKE Move it, now! We’ve got a situation. CONSTRUCTION WORKER Where can I move it?! BLAKE That way! Blake points - but SWAT vehicles pile in, blocking. 51. BLAKE Get in your vehicle and stay there! Foley and the SWAT Commander, Allen, approach the entrance. The Market Security Chief walks up, frantic. SECURITY CHIEF You’ve gotta get in there! FOLEY This is a hostage situation - SECURITY CHIEF It’s a robbery! They’ve got direct access to the online trading desk. FOLEY I’m not risking my men for your money - SECURITY CHIEF It’s not our money, it’s everyone’s! ALLEN Really? Mine’s in my mattress. SECURITY CHIEF If you don’t shut these guys down, the stuffing in that mattress might be worth a whole lot less, pal. FOLEY Cut the fiber line - shut down the cell tower. That’ll slow them down. INT. STOCK EXCHANGE - CONTINUOUS Shoeshine Man looks up from the laptop. SHOESHINE MAN They cut the fiber. Cell’s working. BANE For now. How much longer does the program need? SHOESHINE MAN Eight minutes. 54. EXT. HIGH OVERPASS - CONTINUOUS Batman pulls up, overlooking the intersection - pulls a rifle-shaped device. A tone builds - he aims it at the bike and fires. EXT. HIGHWAY OFF-RAMP - CONTINUOUS Janitor’s bike sparks and dies. Sirens as Cops move in, Another bike splutters and dies - the Hostage breaks for cover. EXT. HIGH OVERPASS - CONTINUOUS Batman sees the last two bikes disappear beneath an overpass. He holsters his EMP rifle and guns the Bat-Pod. INT. BLAKE’S CRUISER - CONTINUOUS Foley, in the back, is using the cruiser as a mobile command station. FOLEY (into radio) Call everyone in - every car patrol, beat cop, off-duty, too! Pull ’em in, close every street! Now! Foley looks out at Gotham rushing by. FOLEY I’m gonna do what Gordon never could. BLAKE What’s that? FOLEY I’m gonna take down the Batman. BLAKE Sir, what about the armed robbers? Foley ignores him. 55. EXT. GOTHAM - CONTINUOUS All around the city, cops mobilize - cars, vans, choppers... EXT. HIGHWAY - CONTINUOUS Bane pulls up at speed alongside Shoeshine Man. Shoeshine Man glances inside his pack - signals ’2’. Bane turns, sees darkness approaching, reaches back and grabs his Hostage, lifting him onto the back of Shoeshine Man’s bike. Bane peels off - Batman stays on Shoeshine Man. INT. CHOPPER - CONTINUOUS A Spotter watches Bane peel off, hits the radio. SPOTTER (into radio) One bike’s pulled off, no hostage - INT. BLAKE’S CRUISER - CONTINUOUS Foley listens to the radio, hungry - SPOTTER (over radio) Should we pursue? FOLEY Negative! Stay on the Batman! BLAKE But he’s getting away! FOLEY (annoyed) Who do you want to catch? Some robber, or the son-of-a-bitch who killed Harvey Dent? INT. DAGGETT’S PENTHOUSE - CONTINUOUS Coverage of the pursuit blares from all the TVs, as Daggett and Stryver watch. Tense. TV ANNOUNCER People aren’t saying much - frankly, they’re too busy - but all signs suggest that what we’re (MORE) 56. TV ANNOUNCER (cont’d) seeing is, in fact, the return of the Batman... INT. INNER OFFICE, DAGGETT’S PENTHOUSE - CONTINUOUS Moving in on a shadow, crouched in front of Daggett’s safe, working the dial... The shadow slides up a pair of goggles onto the top of its head creating the silhouette of cat ears. It is Catwoman. She turns to the TV, watching the pursuit. CATWOMAN Well, what do you know? Catwoman opens the safe. Nothing inside. She frowns. EXT. GOTHAM STREETS - CONTINUOUS Bane slips between two cruisers who tear after the Batman. He jumps up onto a concrete barrier, then down to the mouth of an outflow pipe. He glances at the entire Gotham Police Department descending on one man. Disappears into the pipe. EXT. GOTHAM STREETS - CONTINUOUS Shoeshine Man glances into his pack - the program beeps, finished. He looks back to see the Bat-Pod racing at him, ducks as it comes alongside...riderless. Shoeshine Man looks up, confused. WHUMP! His hostage is ripped off the bike by a low-flying dark shape. Shoeshine Man lays down the bike in a shower of sparks, rolls off dazed. Batman grabs him. BATMAN WHAT WERE YOU STEALING?! Shoeshine Man stares. Unafraid. Batman rips the computer from his pack. The screen reads: APPLICATION COMPLETE Blinding light and noise as police choppers descend - sirens everywhere. Batman grabs the USB drive from the laptop. He jumps on the Bat-Pod - pauses, taking in the sight of thousands of police, cars, choppers, dogs, closing in. 59. INT. DAGGETT’S PENTHOUSE - NIGHT Daggett watches the TV coverage, concerned. Stryver enters. STRYVER Bane says the Batman interfered, but the task was accomplished. DAGGETT What about the men they arrested? STRYVER He says, and I quote, they would die before talking. DAGGETT (grins) Where does he find these guys? Daggett gets to his feet, relieved, moves to his inner office. Open the champagne... INT. INNER OFFICE, DAGGETT’S PENTHOUSE - CONTINUOUS Daggett comes through the door, calling back. DAGGETT And can we get some girls in here? CATWOMAN (O.S.) Careful what you wish for. Catwoman grabs him, throws him across the room. His back slams against the wall - he draws a gun, but - WHACK! - Catwoman pins his wrist to the wall at shoulder height using the high heel of her boot. He whimpers as she leans in. CATWOMAN Cat got your tongue? She plucks the gun from his trembling hand. DAGGETT You dumb bitch. CATWOMAN Nobody ever accused me of being dumb. 60. DAGGETT Dumb to show up here tonight. CATWOMAN I want what you owe me - Click - Stryver has a gun to her head. DAGGETT ’I want’ never gets... Stryver looks appreciatively at Catwoman as she lowers her leg... STRYVER Nice outfit...those heels make it tough to walk? Catwoman digs her stiletto into his calf, hard. He screams. CATWOMAN I don’t know, do they? Catwoman spins, disarms Stryver, grabs Daggett. CATWOMAN So where is it? DAGGETT Where’s what? CATWOMAN The program. The ’Clean Slate’. DAGGETT Oh, yeah - the ultimate tool for a master thief with a record. I don’t have it. The Bodyguard bursts in, gun drawn. Catwoman, holding Daggett, spins, kicking the window with the point of her heel. The glass shatters. She pulls Daggett through the window. He screams - they drop... EXT. WINDOW-CLEANING PLATFORM - CONTINUOUS ...ten feet onto the window-cleaning platform. Catwoman uses her bladed heel to cut a rope - the platform plunges down the side of the building. 61. EXT. FLAT ROOF - MOMENTS LATER Catwoman dumps Daggett onto the roof, towering over him. CATWOMAN Where is it? DAGGETT The ’Clean Slate’? Type in a name and date of birth and within a couple hours that person ceases to exist in any database? Little too good to be true. CATWOMAN You’re lying. Rykin Data took it to prototype stage - DAGGETT That’s why I bought them. But they had nothing. It was a gangland myth. Catwoman leans back from Daggett, taking this in... Shapes drop onto the rooftop. Emerge from fire exits. They’re not Daggett’s bodyguards, these are Bane’s men... Catwoman holds Daggett by the throat, threatening him. CATWOMAN Stay back! They continue to approach. One of them screws a silencer onto his gun. CATWOMAN I’m not bluffing! VOICE (O.S.) They know... All eyes search for the source of the voice. Catwoman spots it - a dark shape, crouched on the roof above: Batman. BATMAN They just don’t care. As the Mercenary with the silencer looks up, Catwoman leaps forward, grabs his gun. Batman drops into the middle of the fray, fighting back Mercenaries at Catwoman’s back - she fires at one, clipping him, he drops. She spins aiming at another’s head - Batman yanks her arm down, forcing her to miss the Mercenary. Batman takes him out with a kick. 64. WAYNE We bought all the neighbors. Alfred takes the cowl from him, then the cape, as they walk. ALFRED From the look of the television coverage, you seem to have your taste for wanton destruction back. WAYNE (pulls out USB drive) I retrieved this. ALFRED Shouldn’t the police be gathering the evidence? WAYNE They don’t have the tools to analyze it. ALFRED They would if you gave them to them - WAYNE One man’s tool is another man’s weapon. ALFRED In your mind, perhaps. But there aren’t many things you couldn’t turn into a weapon. WAYNE Alfred. Enough. The police weren’t getting it done - ALFRED Perhaps they would’ve if you haven’t made a sideshow of yourself. WAYNE Perhaps you’re upset you were wrong. ALFRED Wrong? 65. WAYNE You thought I didn’t have it in me. Alfred looks at him. Puts down the cape and cowl. ALFRED You don’t. You lead a bloated police force on a merry chase with some fancy new toys from Fox. What about when you come up against him. What then? Alfred points to the monitor - Wayne sees Bane killing... WAYNE I’ll fight harder, I always have. ALFRED When you had something to fight for. What are you fighting for now? Not your life. Wayne moves to switch off the monitor. Alfred grabs his hand. ALFRED Take a good look. At his speed, his ferocity, His training. I see the power of belief. Of the fanatic. I see the League of Shadows resurgent. WAYNE You said he was excommunicated. ALFRED By Rā’s al Ghūl. Who leads them now? WAYNE Rā’s al Ghūl was the League of Shadows. And I beat him. Bane’s just a mercenary, and we have to find out what he’s up to. Wayne plugs the USB in, hits keys. Text scrolls. WAYNE Trades of some kind. Coded... The screen blanks, a thumb print appears. 66. ALFRED Is that -? WAYNE Mine. Courtesy of Selina Kyle. Wayne pulls out the USB, rises. Get this to Fox - he can crack the code and tell us what trades they were executing. Alfred looks at Wayne. Takes the USB. INT. HALL, WAYNE MANOR - CONTINUOUS (NIGHT) As Wayne hits the bottom of the stairs, Alfred calls. ALFRED I’ll get this to Fox. But no more. Waynne hears his tone of voice. Turns to him. ALFRED I’ve sewn you up and set your bones...but I won’t bury you. I’ve buried enough members of the Wayne family. WAYNE You’d abandon me? ALFRED You see only one end to your story. Leaving is all I have to make you understand: you aren’t Batman anymore - you have to find another way. You used to talk about finishing. About life beyond that awful cave - WAYNE Rachel died knowing we’d decided to be together. That was my life beyond this cave and I can’t just move on. She didn’t. She couldn’t. Alfred considers this. Looks away. ALFRED What if he had? What if she wasn’t intending to make a life with you? 69. FOX Answering your own door? WAYNE Yes. Could you decode the trades on that drive? Fox hands Wayne a newspaper - the main headline: BATMAN BACK TO FOIL OR MASTERMIND STOCK RAID... FOX I didn’t need to. Page three. Wayne turns the page: WAYNE DOUBLES DOWN - AND LOSES... FOX It seems you made a series of large put options on the futures exchange. Verified by thumb print. The options expired at midnight last night. Wayne looks up from the newspaper, reeling. FOX Long term we may be able to prove fraud, but for now...you’re completely broke. And Wayne Enterprises is about to fall into the hands of John Daggett. WAYNE The weapons - we can’t let Daggett get his hands on Applied Sciences - FOX Applied Sciences is shut up tight, and off the books. The energy project is a different story. WAYNE Miranda Tate. We need to convince the board to get behind her. Let’s show her the reactor - FOX We’re meeting her there in thirty-five minutes. You better get dressed. 70. EXT. WAYNE ENTERPRISES RECYCLING PLANT - DAY A scrapyard on the Gotham river. Across the water, the towers of Gotham. Lucius leads Miranda from her car. MIRANDA You brought me out here to show me a rubbish dump, Mr. Fox? FOX Bear with me, Miss Tate. They arrive at a Portakabin and enter. INT. PORTAKABIN - CONTINUOUS Miranda looks around the derelict office. Fox smiles at her. FOX Keep your hands and feet inside the car at all times. He hits a button and the floor descends, Miranda is shocked as the office becomes an elevator into - INT. ELEVATOR, FUSION REACTOR - CONTINUOUS They descend diagonally into a massive concrete tunnel... MIRANDA This is it, isn’t it? FOX The reactor is beneath the river so that it could be instantly flooded in an event of a security breach. MIRANDA Is Bruce Wayne really that paranoid? FOX I’m gonna plead the fifth on that one. Miranda marvels as they step off the elevator. She spots a figure deep within: Bruce Wayne. WAYNE I thought you might like to see what your investment built. 71. MIRANDA No radiation, no fossil fuels. Free, clean energy for an entire city. WAYNE If it worked. It doesn’t. Wayne leads Miranda to the core. Two perpendicular rings of electromagnets suspend a bowling-ball-sized mass of metal. Wayne hits buttons - the ball glows, then dies to cold. WAYNE Ignition, yes. But no chain reaction. MIRANDA You’ve built a lot of security around a damp squib. Nothing. About three years ago a Russian scientist published a paper on weaponized fusion reactions. One week later your reactor started developing problems... (Looks at Wayne.) I think this machine works. WAYNE Miranda, if it were operational, the danger to Gotham would be too great. MIRANDA Would it make you feel better to know that the Russian scientist died in a plane crash six months ago? WAYNE Someone else will work out what Dr. Pavel did. Someone else will figure out how to turn this power source into a nuclear weapon. I need you to take control of Wayne Enterprises and this reactor. MIRANDA And to do what with it? WAYNE Nothing. Until we can find a way to guarantee its safety. 74. INT. DAGGETT’S PENTHOUSE - DAY Daggett bursts in, furious. Stryver tries to placate him. DAGGETT How the hell did Miranda Tate get the inside track on the Wayne board?! Was she meeting with Wayne? Was she sleeping with Wayne? STRYVER Not that we know of - DAGGETT Clearly you don’t ’know of’ anything, do you?! Where’s Bane?! STRYVER We told him it was urgent - DAGGETT Then where is the masked - BANE (O.S.) Speak of the devil... Daggett turns. Bane is already there. BANE ...and he shall appear. DAGGETT What the hell’s going on? BANE The plan is proceeding as expected. DAGGETT You see me running Wayne Enterprises?! (Moves towards Bane.) Your stock exchange hit didn’t work, friend. And now you’ve got my construction crews working all hours around the city? How’s that supposed to help my company absorb Wayne’s? BANE (to Stryver) Leave us. 75. DAGGETT You stay right there! I’m in charge! Bane places a gentle hand on Daggett’s shoulder. BANE Do you feel in charge? Daggett is taken aback. Stryver leaves. DAGGETT I’ve paid you a small fortune - BANE And that gives you power over me? Daggett considers the heavy hand on his shoulder. Nervous. DAGGETT What is this? BANE Your money and infrastructure have been important. Till now. DAGGETT What are you? BANE Gotham’s reckoning. Come to end the borrowed time you’ve all been living on... Bane gently takes the terrified Daggett’s head in his hands... DAGGETT You are true evil... BANE I am necessary evil. Stryver, on the steps outside the living room, flinches. SCENE OMITTED 76. INT./EXT. CRUISER ON GOTHAM STREETS - MOMENTS LATER Wayne stares out the window. Blake glances across. BLAKE When you began...why the mask? WAYNE To protect the people closest to me. BLAKE You’re a loner with no family. WAYNE There are always people you care about. You just don’t realize how much until they’re gone. (Collects himself.) The idea was to be a symbol. Batman could be anybody, that was the point. BLAKE It was damn good to see him back. WAYNE Not everybody agrees. BLAKE They’ll figure it out in the end. WAYNE Got anything on Bane’s whereabouts? BLAKE Yeah, I’ve got five hundred pages of tunnel records and a flashlight. I could use some help. WAYNE (thinks) You know what? Drop me in Old Town... EXT. SELINA’S BUILDING, OLD TOWN, GOTHAM - DAY Blake drops Wayne off. WAYNE Don’t wait. I’ll get a cab. 79. INT. HOSPITAL ROOM - CONTINUOUS Blake enters. Gordon is sitting up in bed, talking to Foley. FOLEY Can we help you, officer? BLAKE John Daggett’s body was found in a dumpster an hour ago. I thought you might like to know. GORDON Why? BLAKE Because Daggett’s name is all over the permits I pulled to map the tunnels under Gotham. Blake hands Gordon a stack of files. Foley glares at Blake. BLAKE MTA maintenance, sewer construction... GORDON (to Foley) Where did you get to with the tunnel searches? FOLEY (to Blake) Remind me to tell the detail to keep hotheads out. (To Gordon.) We’ve had teams down there, but it’s a huge network - GORDON Get more men, work a grid. I want him found. FOLEY Yeah, yeah - the masked man. We’re on it. Gordon eyes the files hungrily - glances up at Blake. GORDON This is good work. Lose the uniform - you’re working for me now. We could use some hotter heads around here. 80. BLAKE This could just be a coincidence. GORDON You’re a detective now, son, you’re not allowed to believe in coincidence anymore. Blake tries to conceal his excitement from Foley. EXT. WAYNE MANOR - EVENING (END OF DAY) Wayne, covering his head with a newspaper, hurries up the driveway in the rain. Steps into the alcove. Hits the bell. MIRANDA (O.S) Nobody’s answering. Wayne turns to find Miranda there. WAYNE No. I’m on my own now. MIRANDA Do you have keys? Wayne looks a little helpless all of a sudden. WAYNE Never needed them... She takes his hand. MIRANDA Let’s find a window. INT. GREAT ROOM, WAYNE MANOR - CONTINUOUS (END OF DAY) They force the French windows - enter, brushing off the rain. MIRANDA Fox worked the board like you’ve never seen - I’m in, Daggett’s out and he’s not happy. Wayne sets down the newspaper: FROM BILLIONAIRE TO BUM 81. WAYNE Hope you don’t like me for your money. Miranda kicks off her shoes. Glances at the paper. MIRANDA Suffering builds character. Then at a photo of Wayne’s parents. MIRANDA I’ll take care of your parents’ legacy, Bruce. Miranda picks up a photo of Rachel. MIRANDA Who’s this? Wayne looks at her. Can’t find words... MIRANDA Where’s Alfred? WAYNE He left. Taking everything. Miranda puts the photo down. Kisses him. Passionately. Then again. He kisses back. Suddenly the lights go out. MIRANDA What’s that? WAYNE (sheepish) I think my power’s been shut off. INT. SAME - LATER (NIGHT) Wayne watches as Miranda tends to a roaring fire. WAYNE You’re pretty good at that. MIRANDA When I was a child we had almost nothing. But on the nights we had a fire, we felt very rich indeed. She returns to him, pulling a blanket around both of them. 84. MERCENARY (spins) Who? Batman hangs upside down behind him. BATMAN (O.S.) Me. Darkness smashes onto the Mercenary. Gunfire in the tunnel. Catwoman races along, pursued by a Mercenary. He is yanked off his feet by darkness - he screams... Batman picks off more and more Mercenaries. Screams echo... Batman follows Catwoman through the dark tunnel. CATWOMAN Just a little further. A grate slams down, separating them - the lights come on. He is deep inside. INT. BANE’S LAIR, SEWERS - CONTINUOUS Mercenaries look down on him from above. Catwoman turns. CATWOMAN I had to find a way to stop them trying to kill me. BATMAN You’ve made a serious mistake. BANE (O.S.) Not as serious as yours, I fear. Batman turns. Bane emerges from behind the waterfalls. BATMAN Bane. BANE Let’s not stand on ceremony here, Mr. Wayne. Catwoman hears the name. Less sure of what she’s done. Batman moves at Bane - strikes powerful blows - Bane catches his fist. BANE Peace has cost you strength. Victory has defeated you. 85. Bane SMASHES Batman back - kicks him off the catwalk - Batman drops, uses his cape to land. Bane climbs down on a chain - his men watch in disciplined silence - Batman hurls flashbangs at Bane, who doesn’t flinch. BANE Theatricality and deception are powerful agents...to the uninitiated. Batman lashes out at Bane - Bane counters - they separate. BANE But we are initiated, aren’t we, Bruce? The League of Shadows. And you betrayed us... BATMAN Us? You were excommunicated. From a gang of psychopaths. BANE Now I am the Legue of Shadows, here to fulfill Rā’s al Ghūl’s destiny... Batman hurls himself at bane, throwing his into the waterfall, where he smashes his fists and gauntlets into Bane’s mask again and again, water cascading over them. Bane is not moving. Just taking the blows. Batman pauses. Bane’s arms SHOOT OUT, SMASHING Batman aside - Bane RISES... BANE You fight like a younger man. Nothing held back. No reserves. Admirable. But mistaken. Batman hits a switch on his belt - the lights go out - Bane turns slowly addressing all the shadows at once. BANE You think darkness is your ally. But you merely adopted the dark. I was born in it. Formed by it... In the shadows, Batman circles, looking to strike... BANE I didn’t see the light until I was already a man. And by then it was nothing to me but blinding... 86. Bane lunges backwards into the darkness - Batman’s throat in his grasp. BANE The shadows betray you, because they belong to me... Bane SMASHES him into the ground, POUNDING, pounding, pounding the hard cowl with his bare fists until it CRACKS. Bane RISES from Batman, gestures to the ceiling of the chamber - explosive charges have been drilled into holes... BANE I will show you where I’ve made my home while preparing to bring justice. Then...I will break you. A Mercenary tosses Bane a detonator - Batman watches through cracked cowl - Bane hits the detonator - explosions BURST over his head as the ceiling CRUMBLES revealing: Applied Sciences - Bane has dropped the bottom out of Fox’s weapons store...a camouflage Tumbler rests in the rubble. BATMAN No... BANE Your precious armory. Gratefully accepted. We will need it. INT. APPLIED SCIENCES - CONTINUOUS Mercenaries race through the stacks of equipment... INT. BANE’S LAIR, SEWERS - CONTINUOUS Batman climbs to his feet, swaying. Bane approaches. BANE I wondered which would break first - your spirit... Batman SWINGS at him - misses - Bane GRABS him, lifts him HIGH. ...or your body. Bane brings Batman down onto his knee, BREAKING his back with a horrific CRACK. 89. BLAKE We can offer you protection... Selina looks at him with contempt. Blake shrugs, switches off the tape, moves to the door. BLAKE When I spotted you, I was looking for a friend...Bruce Wayne. Selina turns to look at Blake. His eyes plead with her. BLAKE Did the kill him? SELINA I’m not sure. And we - CUT TO: BLACK SCREEN. Sounds: screaming, laughing, CRYING. Sights: LIGHT, bodies FALLING, a DARK SKULL... And we are - INT. STONE CELL - DAWN Wayne opens his eyes. Unshaven. Filthy. Someone else is in the cell - Wayne cannot move to look - even the attempt is painful...the skull drifts into his sight. Bane. Squatting at Wayne’s bedside, muscled shoulders curving into his mask. WAYNE Why didn’t you just kill me? BANE You don’t fear death. You welcome it. Your punishment is to be more severe. WAYNE (scathing) You’re a torturer... BANE Yes. But not of your body. Of your soul. Wayne exhales. Eyes losing focus from sheer pain. 90. WAYNE Where am I? BANE Home. Wayne’s eyes dart about: filthy stone walls, distant sunlight from above, iron bars: an underground prison. Where I learned the truth about despair. As will you. (Rises.) There is a reason that this prison is the worst hell on earth... Bane steps to the bars - looks up at a bright opening five hundred feet above. Like being at the bottom of a gigantic well... Hope. Every man who has rotted here over the centuries has looked up to the light and imagined climbing to freedom. So simple. So easy. And, like shipwrecked men turning to sea water from uncontrollable thirst, many have died trying. I learned that there can be no true despair without hope. (Turns to Wayne.) So as I terrorize Gotham, I will feed its people hope to poison their souls. I will let them believe they can survive so that you can watch them clamber over each other to stay in the sun... Bane points to an old TV, just outside the bars. You will watch as I torture an entire city to cause you pain you thought you could never feel again. Then, when you have truly understood the depths of your failure, we will fulfill Rā’s al Ghūl’s destiny. We will destroy Gotham. And when it is done...when Gotham is ashes...then you have my permission to die. Bane rises. Leaves. Wayne drifts back to unconsciousness. EXT. BLACKGATE PRISON - DAY A van pulls through the gate. Selina, inside the van, looks up at the formidable grey building. 91. INT. BLACKGATE PRISON - CONTINUOUS Guards lead Selina down the cells. Whistles and catcalls. GUARD We’re locking her up in here? WARDEN The Dent Act allows non-segregation based on extraordinary need. First time she broke out of women’s correctional she was sixteen. Selina passes a Huge Inmate who strains through the bars... HUGE INMATE Little closer, baby... SELINA Why, honey, you wanna hold my hand? Without breaking step, she slips his outstretched hands between her handcuffed ones and cartwheels, snapping his arms - he screams in agony - she keeps walking... WARDEN She’ll be just fine. INT. WAYNE ENTERPRISES - DAY Fox comes out of the elevator with Miranda. FOX I don’t see the need for a board meeting on the energy project - MIRANDA Bruce got a lot of things right. Keeping the board in the dark wasn’t one of them... Fox swings the doors to the boardroom open... INT. BOARDROOM, WAYNE ENTERPRISES - CONTINUOUS The board is there. Scared. At the head of the table - Bane. BANE This meeting is called to order. Fox and Miranda freeze. Staring at the mask. 94. PRISONER He will try the climb. String Man starts scaling the wall. The Prisoners’ chant grows stronger as he climbs towards the light. Above: Strong Man stops, perched on a ledge, a twelve-foot leap from the rest of the climb... The chanting peaks as Strong Man leaps...misses...falls. The rope catches - he swings into the rock face. Prisoners fall silent as Strong Man is lowered, broken, bloody, to the prison floor. WAYNE Has anyone made it? PRISONER Of course not. The Blind Prisoner barks at him. WAYNE What does he say? PRISONER He says there is one who did. A child... INSERT CUT: a child of about ten looks up towards the light. PRISONER A child who had been born in this hell... WAYNE Bane. PRISONER An old legend. Nothing more. The Prisoner leaves Wayne’s cell - switches on the TV. WAYNE Don’t. PRISONER Whatever they want you to see...it’s happening soon. 95. INT. BANE’S LAIR, SEWERS - DAY Bane’s men lead Fox, Miranda and Fredericks through the debris. Fox stares at Mercenaries working on his old inventions... EXT. LOCATIONS AROUND GOTHAM - EVENING SWATs and Cops mass around entrances to sewers, tunnels... INT. MASSIVE TUNNEL - CONTINUOUS Bane leads Fox and the others to where Mercenaries plant charges on a hewn wall. Dr. Pavel is here. Waiting. Bane nods at his men. The wall blows. EXT. LOCATIONS AROUND GOTHAM - CONTINUOUS A SWAT team about to enter a sewer pipe hear a low echoing boom. They look at each other, then head in. Thousands of Police head into manholes, tunnel entrances, checking weapons, using flashlights... INT. MASSIVE TUNNEL - CONTINUOUS Bane leads the way over rubble into the REACTOR. Dr. Pavel follows. Bane approaches the machine. Turns to Fox. BANE Turn it on. Fox shakes his head. Bane holds his gun to Fredericks’ head. BANE I only need one other board member. There are eight more waiting upstairs. FOX I won’t do it. Fredericks trembles. Bane cocks the weapon. MIRANDA Alright, stop. She walks up to the scanner. Places her hand on it. It beeps. She turns to Fox. Quietly pleading. 96. MIRANDA Lucius, you’ll kill this man and yourself, and barely slow them down. Fox reluctantly puts his hand on the scanner. Then Fredericks. The core glows brighter and brighter. Dr. Pavel is transfixed. BANE Do your work. Bane turns to his men. Gestures at the hostages. Take them to the surface. People of their status deserve to see the next era of western civilization. Fox, Miranda and Fredericks are led back into the rubble. EXT. GOTHAM STADIUM - DAY The Mayor, flanked by Security, talks to a crowd of Reporters. REPORTER We’re seeing literally thousands of police heading into the sewers - MAYOR A training exercise, that’s all. If you’ll excuse me, I’ve got tickets to watch our boys thrash Rapid City. The Mayor heads into the stadium with the crowds... INT. SEWERS - CONTINUOUS Hundreds of SWATs wade, flashlights swinging, heading towards the center... Teams are converging from different entry points... INT./EXT. CRUISER ON GOTHAM STREETS - CONTINUOUS Blake is on the phone. BLAKE I’ve been to half Daggett’s cement plants, logged locations they’ve poured for underground construction...