HBO Max Is About to Lose One of DC's Best Movies

By Liam Crowley

Among the dozens of titles departing HBO Max next month, one sticks out above the rest: The Dark Knight. Christopher Nolan's epic Batman tale is set to leave the streaming service on August 31st, along with its predecessor Batman Begins, with no word on what their next destination will be. The timing of this departure is interesting, as The Dark Knight recently celebrated its 14th anniversary just last week. On top of that, HBO Max's official @hbomaxmovies Twitter account celebrated both The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises' recent birthdays by letting fans know that the full "Dark Knight trilogy is streaming now on HBO Max."

Both Batman Begins and The Dark Knight had a brief spell on Netflix earlier this year, while simultaneously being available on HBO Max. Netflix brought in two-thirds of the critically-acclaimed Dark Knight trilogy this past February, one month before Robert Pattinson's The Batman hit theaters. Batman Begins and The Dark Knight would leave the red-branded streaming service on May 1st.

Earlier this month, Netflix added The Dark Knight Rises to its ranks. While the final chapter of Nolan's Batman trilogy shows no signs of leaving HBO Max anytime soon, the addition of it mere months before its predecessors become free agents is noteworthy.

Batman has been a hot commodity since Pattinson's portrayal took the box office by storm in the spring. While the cape and cowl are currently in The Lighthouse actor's hands, Bale has expressed some interest in a fourth chapter of his Dark Knight franchise, under one specific condition.

"No, no, no. Nobody, nobody reaches out to me or they keep me like a mushroom, keep me in the dark and feed me sh-t," Bale told ComicBook.com when asked if he's been contacted about a return. "For me, that would be a matter of Chris Nolan, if he ever decided to do it again and if he chose to come my way again, then yeah, I would consider it because that was always our pact between each other is we would just stick to it. We said we would only ever make three. And then I said to myself, and I'd only ever make it with Chris."

Bale's latest comic book movie performance can be seen in Thor: Love and Thunder, playing in theaters now. For fans of The Dark Knight, you have until August 31st to stream it on HBO Max.

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