EXCLUSIVE: Prithviraj Sukumaran on how Lucifer and Empuraan draw inspiration from Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight

Prithviraj Sukumaran shares that both Lucifer and Empuraan draw inspiration from a particular aspect of Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight. Keep reading to find out more.

By Srijony Das

Published on Mar 21, 2025 | 08:43 PM IST | 3.3K

Prithviraj Sukumaran on how Lucifer and Empuraan draw inspiration from Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight (PC: Prithviraj on X, IMDb)

Prithviraj Sukumaran has his hands full at the moment, courtesy of the brimming excitement for his next directorial venture, L2: Empuraan. Starring Mohanlal in the lead, the film is the sequel to the 2019 hit Malayalam thriller Lucifer. Recently, the filmmaker opened up about some key aspects that connect both films.

In an exclusive interview with Pinkvilla, Prithviraj discussed how both Lucifer and L2: Empuraan start with chaos, with the protagonist being introduced later.

The actor-turned-filmmaker acknowledged that, while this approach is uncommon in most films, it ultimately depends on the director’s vision and how they choose to proceed with the storytelling.

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Moreover, he provided an example of what he considers the greatest superhero movie, where a similar pattern is followed. Prithviraj cited Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight series, where the protagonist is not always shown first but is still an integral part of the scene.

Prithviraj explained, “You never really feel that you’re not watching the protagonist. Because the whole film builds an atmosphere or aura around you, even without the central character being there, that keeps telling you that you’re actually watching him, even though you’re not looking at him.”

He mentioned that both Lucifer and L2: Empuraan draw inspiration from this storytelling technique.

Continuing his explanation, Prithviraj said, “...which is what Murali Gopy, my writer, has tried to do with Lucifer Part 1. Much like that, even in Part 2, the film starts off in the middle of chaos, and very soon, you realize that this chaos can be fixed with one man returning or one man reappearing.”

For the unversed, L2: Empuraan is set to release worldwide on March 27, 2025.