Harvey Dent's Fate Has Been Conclusively Revealed, So What Is Batman's?

Warning: spoilers ahead for those few who haven't seen "The Dark Knight." In an article up this afternoon over at MTV.com, we explored how the script for “The Dark Knight,” available yesterday online thanks to our friends at Joblo, irrefutably confirmed to the many doubters and speculators the death of Harvey “Two-Face” Dent.”

Left unexplored is what exactly it means for the Batman franchise moving forward.

One of the most interesting things to come out of our recent interview with David Goyer was that the Batman story man already had an idea for a potential third film. Given how the themes for the first two films (fear in “Begins,” escalation in “Knight) inexorably lead to a villain, we wondered, not what bad guys could be featured, but what grand idea – the latter always leading to the former in the Nolan universe.

Many commentators rightly suggested that the theme of “Batman 3” could be redemption, the idea that the Caped Crusader would find salvation after the events of “Dark Knight,” which have him literally hunted and running for his life at the end of the film.

It was hard to argue with posters when they also said that Dent could be a major part of that supposed angle, what with the way things left off for him at the end of “Knight.”

That now obviously won’t be the case.

So, firstly, supposing redemption IS the theme (a leap already), I want to know whether there’s another villain that could fit into the angle as well as Two-Face could have: Who would it be? How would it work?

Just as interesting as “Batman 3,” of course, is, well, obviously “The Dark Knight.” More specifically, if you were one of the people that thought Dent was alive, does his death now change the way you view the film? For many, his story at the end feels rushed, the transformation happening all too quickly. A lot of people, I guess, assumed it was because it was simply his beginning. It’s not. Does that make you like his introduction less? More?

And, finally, we come to bury Dent, but also to praise him. Aaron Eckhart, in our opinion, doesn't get enough credit, so now that we know he won't be coming back, let's hear it for the best under-appreciated performance in the film.

Harvey Dent is dead. Long live Harvey Dent!

Sound off on all your Dent related thoughts below.

Tags batman, the dark knight