Villains defined The Dark Knight trilogy more than Batman, says Christopher Nolan

Filmmaker Christopher Nolan says the antagonists in Dark Knight Trilogy defined the character of Batman in each of the films.

Nolan, who is credited to have given a subliminal edge to the role of Caped Crusader of Gotham in his superhero interpretation, says all three villains - Liam Neeson's Henri Ducard/ Ra's al Ghul, Heath Ledger's The Joker and Tom Hardy's Bane helped Bruce Wayne become a more layered part.

About 2005's origins story, ‘Batman Begins’, which featured Christian Bale in the title role, Nolan said, "To me, each film is a different genre. They tend to be defined by the villain’’.

"The villain is an appropriate adversary. He's a mentor-turned-enemy."

According to Variety, the filmmaker was speaking at the ongoing Cannes Film Festival over the weekend.

He made his debut at the annual gala and attended the premiere of a 70mm print of Stanley Kubrick's ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’.

‘The Dark Knight' (2008 sequel) for me was always a crime drama in the mold of a Michael Mann film. The Joker was a terrorist, an agent of chaos set loose," he said.

Nolan, 47, called the 2012's final part, ‘The Dark Knight Rises’, as ‘’This historical epic. Bane as a militarist foe helped that’’.

The director said he did not set out to create a ‘Batman’ franchise, when they first collaborated with Warner Bros 13 years ago.

"We hadn't planned on doing a sequel. So shifting genres and the nature of the antagonist felt the way to take the audience on a journey and tell them something different about Bruce Wayne."

Nolan admitted he approached the comic book realm as a noir-thriller.

"Yes, it's a superhero, but it's based on ideas of guilt, fear, these strong impulses that the character has. Bruce Wayne doesn't have any super powers other than extraordinary wealth.

"But really, he's just someone who does a lot of push-ups. In that sense, he's very relatable and human. I think that's why I gravitated towards it’’, he said.

(With inputs from agencies)