The Dark Knight: 5 Easter eggs you probably missed

Thirteen years after its release, The Dark Knight has joined Netflix’s catalogue, enabling fans in the US and the UK to revisit Christopher Nolan’s Batman film.

The first instalment of Nolan’s Batman trilogy, Batman Begins, is also available on the streaming platform – although its final chapter, The Dark Knight Rises, has yet to be added on either side of the Atlantic.

Some might delight in revisiting Heath Ledger’s performance as the Joker, which earned him a posthumous Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

In addition, some might want to keep their eyes peeled for some of the Easter eggs and references lurking in the background.

Here are five Easter eggs you might have missed in The Dark Knight rises:

An unforgettable release date

Early in the movie, James Gordon (portrayed by Gary Oldman) is seen holding up an image of the Joker for Batman to see – more specifically, a frozen still taken from time-stamped surveillance footage.

Pause and zoom on the image and you will see that the photo of the Joker was supposedly taken on “2008/07/18”, in other words 18 July 2008, The Dark Knight’s release date in the US. (The film came out on 24 July 2008 in the UK.)

A car fit for a bat

Christian Bale’s Bruce Wayne drives a Lamborghini Murciélago both in The Dark Knight and Batman Begins.

The vehicle is a fitting choice for the character, for more than one reason: Wayne is notoriously wealthy, so it makes sense for him to drive a luxury sports car.

Beyond that, “murciélago” means “bat” in Spanish. Sometimes it’s just meant to be ...

We’ve seen this mask before

Over the first few minutes of the film, a man – later revealed to be the Joker – is seen holding, then wearing, a clown mask that he uses to conceal his identity during a bank robbery.

That mask is strikingly reminiscent of one worn by Cesar Romero as the Joker in the Batman television series – more precisely in the 1966 episode “The Joker is Wild”, which marked his first appearance as the character.

And you may have seen this poster before too

In the same frame, next to the Joker’s left arm, a framed movie poster can be seen in the distance.

Upon closer inspection, it turns out that poster advertises the 2007 film Spider-Man 3, featuring Tobey Maguire in the title role.

Did someone say “meaow”?

When Wayne visits Morgan Freeman’s Lucius Fox for a new armour, he asks Fox: “How will it hold up against dogs?”

Fox tells him in response: “Are we talking Rottweilers or Chihuahuas? Should do fine against cats.”

That last sentence is a pointed reference to Selina Kyle, aka Catwoman, introduced and played by Anne Hathaway in the next film in the trilogy, Nolan’s 2012 The Dark Knight Rises.

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