Christopher Nolan‘s iconic Batman movie trilogy is among some of the director’s finest work, but he followed a rule that’s easy to miss while making his superhero films that quietly improved his feature-length projects away from Gotham City. Nolan’s three Batman movies, often referred to as the Dark Knight Trilogy, began with 2005’s Batman Begins and concluded with 2012’s The Dark Knight Rises. All three films had Nolan directing a cast led by Christian Bale, who embodied the trilogy’s titular hero. However, Nolan’s focus wasn’t solely on his Batman movies during those seven years.

Nolan has made 12 movies during his filmmaking career, and while the Dark Knight Trilogy is held in very high regard, his reputation goes far beyond the superhero genre. He has proven that he’s capable of making movies in several categories while also maintaining his signature style. As one of the most respected movie directors of the modern age, it’s no surprise that Nolan seemingly had an unwritten rule that would prevent him from being tied to a particular genre.

Christopher Nolan Never Did 2 Batman Movies Back To Back

Nolan directed other movies between his Batman installments

Movie trilogies can be intense affairs, and some finish one installment and immediately begin production on the next. Christopher Nolan didn’t follow this practice and instead made a completely separate movie between each one of his Batman projects. After Batman Begins, the director moved on to making 2006’s The Prestige, which reunited Nolan with Christian Bale while also bringing Hugh Jackman into the fold.

After 2008’s The Dark Knight, Nolan moved away from the Batman universe again to make 2010’s Inception. So, no two installments from the Dark Knight Trilogy come back-to-back in the director’s filmography. To solidify his choice, he quickly moved on to make 2012’s Interstellar and still hasn’t made another superhero movie. Nolan may have been committed to bringing his interpretation of the legendary DC Comics protagonist to life, but he clearly wasn’t willing to ignore his passion for varied filmmaking.

Why Making Original Movies Between The Dark Knight Ones Was Great For Nolan

Nolan’s career benefited from making such varied movies

Christopher Nolan has commented in the past that his Batman trilogy and his other movies were incredibly synergetic, in that making one movie would allow him to evolve as a director and take those lessons into his next project. Because he flitted between the Dark Knight Trilogy and his other movies, each individual film improved in ways they wouldn’t have done if it weren’t for his proclivity for variety.

If Nolan hadn’t jumped between worlds so often, his films may not have reached the lofty heights of quality that they did. In addition, the director making the decision to make other movies between installments of the Dark Knight Trilogy stopped him from being typecast as a director who only made superhero movies. While several directors make a living making movies within this genre, it’s clear from Christopher Nolan‘s choices that he didn’t want to be irrevocably tied to the reputation of only making Batman movies.