The film follows Batman (Christian Bale), Lieutenant James Gordon (Gary Oldman), and District Attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) as they attempt to dismantle organized crime in Gotham.

"The Dark Knight" is the second installment in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Trilogy, which began with "Batman Begins" (2005) and concluded with "The Dark Knight Rises" (2012). The film is an adaptation of the Batman comic book series, specifically inspired by Frank Miller's "The Dark Knight Returns" and Alan Grant's "Batman: Year One."