Wikipedia:Today's featured article/July 14, 2023

The Dark Knight is a 2008 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan from a screenplay he co-wrote with his brother Jonathan. It is based on the DC Comics superhero Batman, played by Christian Bale (pictured), and is the second installment in The Dark Knight Trilogy and the sequel to Batman Begins (2005). In the film, Batman, police lieutenant Jim Gordon, and district attorney Harvey Dent ally to dismantle organized crime in Gotham City. They are derailed by the Joker, an anarchistic mastermind played by Heath Ledger. Ledger's posthumous awards included Academy, BAFTA, and Golden Globe awards for Best Supporting Actor. The ensemble cast also included Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Aaron Eckhart, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Morgan Freeman. The film was the fourth-highest-grossing film ever at the time. It has been assessed as one of the best films ever made. The Library of Congress selected it for the National Film Registry in 2020. A sequel, The Dark Knight Rises, concluded the trilogy in 2012.