Christopher Nolan Admits He Didn't Understand One of THE DARK KNIGHT'S Most Famous Lines

It turns out one of the most famous lines of dialogue from The Dark Knight has haunted director Christopher Nolan for years. He explains that this line has plagued him, and admits that the line never really made much sense to him, but he put it in the movie anyway, and the quote has taken on a life of its own since the movie's release.

The line is delivered by Aaron Eckhart’s Harvey Dent, the Gotham District Attorney who eventually becomes the villainous Two-Face. He says: “You either die a hero or you live long enough to become the villain.” When talking about this line, Nolan said in an interview with Deadline:

"I'm plagued by a line from The Dark Knight, and I'm plagued by it because I didn't write it. My brother [Jonathan] wrote it. It kills me, because it's the line that most resonates. And at the time, I didn't even understand it. He says, 'You either die a hero or you live long enough to become the villain.' I read it in his draft, and I was like, 'All right, I'll keep it in there, but I don't really know what it means. Is that really a thing?' And then, over the years since that film's come out, it just seems truer and truer. In this story, it's absolutely that. Build them up, tear them down. It's the way we treat people."

It’s a great-sounding line, which is obviously why he kept it in, but It’s so funny to learn that Nolan initially didn’t quite understand what it meant. All that mattered in the end was that it resonated with audiences. The line worked, and while it plagues him, Nolan now gets it.