Most of Nolan's films are structurally unconventional. But with his Dark Knight Trilogy, I think he is very consciously adhering to Campbell's Monomyth. If you look carefully, the clues are quite obvious. I think his goal is to create the classic trilogy of this generation - like the original Star Wars was to his.
When talking about his Batman films, Nolan has always mentioned capturing the grandeur of movies like Star Wars as one of his goals. After creating Star Wars, Lucas openly admitted to using The Hero's Journey "formula" and generations of filmmakers after him have been consciously trying to do it as well when making big, epic sagas and most of them have ended up with inferior attempts (the Matrix Trilogy for instance.)
"Every hero has a journey, every journey has an end."
"The epic conclusion to the Dark Knight legend"
Those are some of the lines used in trailers for TDKR.
First, the Seven Archetypes:
1. Hero: "The Hero is the protagonist or central character, whose primary purpose is to separate from the ordinary world and sacrifice himself for the service of the Journey at hand - to answer the challenge, complete the quest and restore the Ordinary World's balance. We experience the Journey through the eyes of the Hero." - Obviously Bruce Wayne, and a little Jim Gordon, and Harvey Dent
2. Mentor: "The Mentor provides motivation, insights and training to help the Hero." - Ra's Al Ghul, Alfred and Lucious Fox
3. Threshold Guardian: "Threshold Guardians protect the Special World and its secrets from the Hero, and provide essential tests to prove a Hero's commitment and worth." - Ra's Al Ghul
4. Herald: "Herald characters issue challenges and announce the coming of significant change. - Rachel, Scarecrow (the first masked villain)
5. Shapeshifter: "The Shapeshifter's mask misleads the Hero by hiding a character's intentions and loyalties." - Ra's again
6. Shadow: "The Shadow can represent our darkest desires, our untapped resources, or even rejected qualities. It can also symbolize our greatest fears and phobias. Shadows may not be all bad, and may reveal admirable, even redeeming qualities. The Hero's enemies and villains often wear the Shadow mask. This physical force is determined to destroy the Hero and his cause." - Harvey Dent
7. Trickster: "Tricksters relish the disruption of the status quo, turning the Ordinary World into chaos with their quick turns of phrase and physical antics. Although they may not change during the course of their Journeys, their world and its inhabitants are transformed by their antics. The Trickster uses laughter [and ridicule] to make characters see the absurdity of the situation, and perhaps force a change." - Obviously the Joker
So if we analyze the 4 new characters - Bane, Selina Kyle, Miranda Tate, and John Blake, I think Bane will definitely be a Shadow archetype, Selina could be a Hero or Shapeshifter, Miranda could be a Herald or Shapeshifter, and Blake could be a Hero, Herald or Shapeshifter.
This is the Main Hero (Bruce)'s Journey:
1. Heroes are introduced in the ORDINARY WORLD, where
2. they receive the CALL TO ADVENTURE. (Parents get killed in BB)
3. They are RELUCTANT at first or REFUSE THE CALL, but (refuses to fight Falcone and jumps ship in BB)
4. are encouraged by a MENTOR to (Ra's)
5. CROSS THE FIRST THRESHOLD and enter the Special World, where (Becoming Batman)
6. they encounter TESTS, ALLIES, AND ENEMIES. (3rd Act of BB, TDK)
7. They APPROACH THE INMOST CAVE, crossing a second threshold - ??
8. where they endure the ORDEAL. - ??
9. They take possession of their REWARD and - ??
10. are pursued on THE ROAD BACK to the Ordinary World. - ??
11. They cross the third threshold, experience a RESURRECTION, and are transformed by the experience. - ??
12. They RETURN WITH THE ELIXIR, a boon or treasure to benefit the Ordinary World. - ??
As you can see, if Bruce is to complete the journey, he has to "die" (go through an Ordeal), find some sort of reward and be resurrected (not literally of course) before he can return to the Ordinary World (live a normal life?).
When talking about his Batman films, Nolan has always mentioned capturing the grandeur of movies like Star Wars as one of his goals. After creating Star Wars, Lucas openly admitted to using The Hero's Journey "formula" and generations of filmmakers after him have been consciously trying to do it as well when making big, epic sagas and most of them have ended up with inferior attempts (the Matrix Trilogy for instance.)
"Every hero has a journey, every journey has an end."
"The epic conclusion to the Dark Knight legend"
Those are some of the lines used in trailers for TDKR.
First, the Seven Archetypes:
1. Hero: "The Hero is the protagonist or central character, whose primary purpose is to separate from the ordinary world and sacrifice himself for the service of the Journey at hand - to answer the challenge, complete the quest and restore the Ordinary World's balance. We experience the Journey through the eyes of the Hero." - Obviously Bruce Wayne, and a little Jim Gordon, and Harvey Dent
2. Mentor: "The Mentor provides motivation, insights and training to help the Hero." - Ra's Al Ghul, Alfred and Lucious Fox
3. Threshold Guardian: "Threshold Guardians protect the Special World and its secrets from the Hero, and provide essential tests to prove a Hero's commitment and worth." - Ra's Al Ghul
4. Herald: "Herald characters issue challenges and announce the coming of significant change. - Rachel, Scarecrow (the first masked villain)
5. Shapeshifter: "The Shapeshifter's mask misleads the Hero by hiding a character's intentions and loyalties." - Ra's again
6. Shadow: "The Shadow can represent our darkest desires, our untapped resources, or even rejected qualities. It can also symbolize our greatest fears and phobias. Shadows may not be all bad, and may reveal admirable, even redeeming qualities. The Hero's enemies and villains often wear the Shadow mask. This physical force is determined to destroy the Hero and his cause." - Harvey Dent
7. Trickster: "Tricksters relish the disruption of the status quo, turning the Ordinary World into chaos with their quick turns of phrase and physical antics. Although they may not change during the course of their Journeys, their world and its inhabitants are transformed by their antics. The Trickster uses laughter [and ridicule] to make characters see the absurdity of the situation, and perhaps force a change." - Obviously the Joker
So if we analyze the 4 new characters - Bane, Selina Kyle, Miranda Tate, and John Blake, I think Bane will definitely be a Shadow archetype, Selina could be a Hero or Shapeshifter, Miranda could be a Herald or Shapeshifter, and Blake could be a Hero, Herald or Shapeshifter.
This is the Main Hero (Bruce)'s Journey:
1. Heroes are introduced in the ORDINARY WORLD, where
2. they receive the CALL TO ADVENTURE. (Parents get killed in BB)
3. They are RELUCTANT at first or REFUSE THE CALL, but (refuses to fight Falcone and jumps ship in BB)
4. are encouraged by a MENTOR to (Ra's)
5. CROSS THE FIRST THRESHOLD and enter the Special World, where (Becoming Batman)
6. they encounter TESTS, ALLIES, AND ENEMIES. (3rd Act of BB, TDK)
7. They APPROACH THE INMOST CAVE, crossing a second threshold - ??
8. where they endure the ORDEAL. - ??
9. They take possession of their REWARD and - ??
10. are pursued on THE ROAD BACK to the Ordinary World. - ??
11. They cross the third threshold, experience a RESURRECTION, and are transformed by the experience. - ??
12. They RETURN WITH THE ELIXIR, a boon or treasure to benefit the Ordinary World. - ??
As you can see, if Bruce is to complete the journey, he has to "die" (go through an Ordeal), find some sort of reward and be resurrected (not literally of course) before he can return to the Ordinary World (live a normal life?).