The Dark Knight Trends as Fans Celebrate the Film's 12th Anniversary

For Batman fans, there's no shortage of live action big screen appearances of the iconic hero to [...]

By Nicole Drum - July 18, 2020 05:10 pm EDT

For Batman fans, there's no shortage of live action big screen appearances of the iconic hero to enjoy. Gotham's protector most recently appeared, played by Ben Affleck in 2017's Justice League and 2016's Batman v Superman Dawn of Justice before that. Robert Pattinson will be the next to suit up in Matt Reeves' The Batman, currently set to hit theaters in October 2021. But today, fans are reflecting on what is for many the greatest Batman film to date -- The Dark Knight. The Christopher Nolan directed film opened in theaters 12 years ago on July 18, 2008.

The second part of Nolan's The Dark Knight Trilogy, the film was the sequel to 2005's Batman Begins and saw the much of that film's cast return, including Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne/Batman, Michael Caine as Alfred, Gary Oldman as Jim Gordan, and Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox. They were joined by Maggie Gyllenhaal who replaced Katie Holmes as Rachel Dawes, Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent, and Heath Ledger as The Joker. Ledger in particular delivered a now-iconic performance as the legendary villain. The actor was posthumously awarded the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his Joker as the actor sadly died before the film's release.

The Dark Knight would ultimately bring in over a billion dollars at the worldwide box office and remains a fixture on "best of" lists both in terms of individual performances -- especially true of Ledger's Joker -- and overall films. Empire in particular in January of this year ranked The Dark Knight as the third best film of the 21st century.

A dozen years on, it remains a favorite. The film is trending on Twitter as fans reflect on the movie, sharing their favorite moments and memories of the Batman film. Read on to see what fans are saying about The Dark Knight for its twelfth birthday and be sure to share your thoughts in the comments below.

Still the Greatest of All Time

Still the 🐐movie. #TheDarkKnight #12YearsOfTheDarkKnight pic.twitter.com/8Ls1lQeIG6
— Michael Wang (@WangWallbangers) July 18, 2020

What a legacy!

Happy Anniversary to #TheDarkKnight Not only one of the greatest films of all time... not only still relevant to the current times.. but also, imo, was carried by THE greatest acting performance of all time. We were robbed of more amazement but damn... what a legacy. #RIP pic.twitter.com/thNv350pro
— GoldBlooded (@whodatdaddy) July 18, 2020

Still a Masterpiece

Happy 12th anniversay to #TheDarkKnight which was released on this day july 18th (2008) 12 years later it's still a masterpiece. 🦇🙌🏻 pic.twitter.com/LlyxMe131d
— 🐺 Stephen Cool Wolf 🐺 (@MysterioStephen) July 18, 2020

Best opening scene

Best opening scene of all time #TheDarkKnight 🦇 https://t.co/6VEtZwlxqV
— JT (@verituas) July 18, 2020

Best Joker Ever

The Dark Knight hit theaters 12 years ago today..best movie ever made along with the best joker hands down. #TheDarkKnight #HeathLedger pic.twitter.com/KTot6mrXbh
— Stephen Long (@LongSwagg09) July 18, 2020

Films can make you feel like that

#TheDarkKnight remains my favorite movie of all time. I'll never forget being 13 years old, staring in absolute awe at the movie unfolding before me, mouth hanging open. I had no idea that films could make you feel like that.
— Gothiana. (@bristokeswrites) July 18, 2020

Just the greatest

The Greatest Comic Book Movie Of All Time!!#TheDarkKnight #ChristopherNolan #ChristianBale #Batman #Joker #HeathLedger pic.twitter.com/qEQGx28XJa
— JulietA J (@52fe2588ad4c42e) July 18, 2020

The MCU has nothing on The Dark Knight

None of the 20+ films in the #MCU comes anywhere near #TheDarkKnight. https://t.co/Jhxyo0s67c
— Patrick J. Lee (@paetjlee) July 18, 2020

Iconic

HBD to the most iconic and well made CBM of all time. #TheDarkKnight pic.twitter.com/uQcxCgIBaT
— Dash (@Dash_845) July 18, 2020

No getting over how amazing The Dark Knight is.

It’s not even the 10th or 15th anniversary.

It’s the 12th. People still aren’t over how amazing this movie is.

This is THE BEST SUPERHERO MOVIE 🤗🔥💯 #TheDarkKnight https://t.co/kDWmabI4lY
— Anthony Genesis🤴🏻 (@Mister_Cool_) July 18, 2020