Rachel Dawes is a fictional character who first appeared in Christopher Nolan's 2005 feature film Batman Begins. She was portrayed in that film by Katie Holmes, with Emma Lockhart as a younger version of the character in early scenes. Holmes also voiced the character in the video game adaptation. Maggie Gyllenhaal replaced Holmes in the 2008 sequel The Dark Knight after Holmes chose not to reprise the role. Gyllenhaal also appeared as Dawes on the viral marketing website I Believe in Harvey Dent, giving Harvey Dent her endorsement in the District Attorney election. In the Dark Knight Trilogy, Rachel is Bruce Wayne's (Christian Bale) childhood sweetheart and one of the few people who truly knows him. The conflict between Bruce's love for her and his secret life as Batman is one of the main themes of the first two films in the trilogy, while her death in The Dark Knight partly motivates his actions in the final film, The Dark Knight Rises. Development The writers of Batman Begins originally considered to have Harvey Dent appearing in the film, but the character of Rachel Dawes was created when they realized that they "couldn't do the character justice". Dent ultimately appeared in the sequel The Dark Knight, portrayed by Aaron Eckhart. Katie Holmes was to reprise as Rachel in The Dark Knight, but turned it down in order to star in Mad Money instead. Before Maggie Gyllenhaal was cast, Emily Blunt and Rachel McAdams were considered to replace Holmes as Rachel. Gyllenhaal has acknowledged that Rachel is a damsel in distress to an extent, but says Nolan sought ways to empower the character, so "Rachel's really clear about what's important to her and unwilling to compromise her morals, which made a nice change" from the many conflicted characters whom she has previously portrayed. Fictional character biography Batman Begins (2005) Rachel is Bruce Wayne's closest childhood friend. Rachel's mother worked as a domestic servant at Wayne Manor, and the two would often play together on the grounds. After Bruce's parents are murdered by Joe Chill (Richard Brake), Rachel's mother seeks other employment and leaves Wayne Manor with Rachel. Rachel enrolls in law school and gets an internship at the Gotham City District Attorney's office during her first year. After Chill is murdered for testifying against Mafia boss Carmine Falcone (Tom Wilkinson), Bruce reveals to Rachel that he intended to murder Chill himself, and