The Dark Knight is a 2008 British-American superhero movie directed, produced, and co-written by Christopher Nolan. Based on the DC Comics character Batman, the movie is the second installment of Nolan's "The Dark Knight Trilogy" and a sequel to 2005's "Batman Begins", starring Christian Bale and supported by Michael Caine, Heath Ledger, Gary Oldman, Aaron Eckhart, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Morgan Freeman. In the movie, Bruce Wayne / Batman (Bale), Police Lieutenant James Gordon (Oldman) and District Attorney Harvey Dent (Eckhart) form an alliance to dismantle organized crime in Gotham City, but are menaced by an anarchistic mastermind known as the Joker (Ledger), who seeks to undermine Batman's influence and throw the city into anarchy.