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One Year Away — Everything We Know About “The Dark Knight Rises”

Posted: July 20, 2011 at 12:01 am   /   by   /   comments (2)

We are a year away from THE DARK KNIGHT RISES.  And while it seems that there is a new piece of information regarding the production everyday, there is still so much that we don’t know.  And I am completely okay with that.  Nolan likes to play things close to the chest, and I am sure there will be surprises out there for even those who seek every spoiler possible.  Obviously, in this day and age, there are things that are going to get out.  So I have tried my best to compile everything that we know so far regarding the final film in the Nolan Batman trilogy.  There are many things that are common knowledge in here, but there will be spoilers, so read with caution.  Is there a method to my madness?  Not really.  It’s just a compilation of images and news bites about the film.  At the end, I will give my thoughts on where I see the film headed based on everything we know.  Will I be right?  No way!  But it’s still fun.

  • Christian Bale, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, and Nestor Carbonell are all set to reprise their roles
  • In the official press release, it only mentioned that Anne Hathaway will play Seline Kyle.  But she later confirmed on Oprah that she will also be playing Catwoman.
  • Tom Hardy is playing the villainous Bane
  • Joseph Gordon-Levitt will be playing John Blake, a Gotham City cop
  • Juno Temple will be playing “a street smart Gotham girl”.  Due to the fact that Nolan has admitted that BATMAN: YEAR ONE has been a big influence on his series, many have speculated that Ms. Temple would be playing Holly Robinson.  She was a young prostitute that Selina Kyle lived with in the graphic novel.
  • Josh Pence will be playing a young Ra’s al Ghul that will be featured in flashback sequences.  We have seen in his past films that Nolan likes to play with time using flashbacks in most of his films.
  • Marion Cotillard will be playing Miranda Tate, a Wayne Enterprises board member eager to help a still-grieving Bruce Wayne resume his father’s philanthropic endeavors for Gotham.  Many, including myself, have assumed that this character is actually Talia al Ghul, daughter of Ra’s al Ghul, seeking revenge on Bruce for what he did to her father.
  • Josh Stewart, Tom Conti, Joey King have been cast in an unspecified role.
  • Rumors have suggested that either Bane will severely beat Batman early in the film or break his back.  This would follow the KNIGHTFALL storyline which is the only real substantial storyline involving Bane.  In KNIGHTFALL, Azreal took over the mantle of Batman as Bruce recovered.  I doubt that Nolan will have Azreal in his film, but maybe Catwoman would protect the city while Bruce is away.
  • The image below has been suggested as the new site of Wayne Manor.  As you know, Wayne Manor received a lot of damage at the end of BATMAN BEGINS.  I just want to see the Batcave underneath it.
  • Liam Neeson has been seen filming in London on the set of the film.  Is this another flashback sequence or does the mystical Lazarus Pit come into play at some point during the film?  This is what Neeson said back in March “That rumour’s totally not true. In the comic books, Ra’s Al Ghul goes into a life bath of some sort and immerses himself to become immortal. So that’s probably where that comes from. But no-one’s approached me with an offer. I’d like to if it happens.”
  • Matthew Modine will play Nixon.  Nothing has been given regarding the character, but speculation suggests that he will play a corrupt politician who is a key villain.  I mean how key can he be with Catwoman, Bane, the League of Shadows, Talia, and Ra’s al Ghul all potentially in the film
  • Brett Cullen will play a judge in the film.  The last judge featured in Nolan’s universe did not get a happy ending.
  • Chris Ellis will be playing a priest.
  • Alon Aboutboul is set to play a mad scientist.  Could he be Dr. Hugo Strange?
  • This is what Gary Oldman has said about the script “fantastic. You think you can’t top THE DARK KNIGHT and I think he may have.”
  • A casting call for the filming in Pittsburgh called for the following: A Warner Bros. Film requires extras to play as Victims and Perpetrators within a city besieged by crime and corruption. Take part in the urban action adventure ripping through the streets of Pittsburgh…Some specific types we are looking for are: Prisoners/Thugs, Guards, Police Officers, Business men & women and Sports Fans- ALL types are needed!!
  • “Eyewitnesses and crew members told us of a particular scene being filmed where a bald-headed child wearing ragged clothes emerges from the well and pulls his hood over his head. From the conversations, we reckon this is a young Bane, emerging from a vat of Venom, trained by Pence’s Ra’s al Ghul. The years of addiction to Venom builds him to be a massive monster with amped up senses, intelligence and physical prowess.” Is this the origin of Bane?  This sounds exactly like the shot of an unidentifiable person climbing out of a tunnel in the teaser.
  • Lazarus Pit?  Or is this the origin of Bane as mentioned above? Either way, Josh Pence was spotted on location where this photo was taken.
  • The film will not be shot in 3D, but Nolan is trying to do some new things with the IMAX technology that he previously used in THE DARK KNIGHT.
  • Nolan has said repeatedly that he is completing the story that he has begun.  That this will bring his films’ full circle.
  • Nolan will not feature Robin in his films because Bale is portraying a young Batman and Robin is still a few films away.
  • Nolan has stated that the Riddler, Mr. Freeze, Joker, and Penguin will not be featured in his film.
  • Gary Oldman has reportedly said that Nolan told the cast the ending of the film verbally, but initially never gave them a written script to avoid leaks
  • There have been snapshots of filming in London with stickers on the windows saying Gotham Central Hospital.  Did Bane break Bruce’s back?  What kind of excuse does Bruce Wayne give for being in the hospital with a broken back?  Or is Alfred sick or dying?  We know from the teaser that Gordon is in the hospital not looking too good. 
  • Sir Michael Caine — who of course plays Alfred — says the story/script for THE DARK KNIGHT RISES is really, really good. “The plot is extraordinary…really extraordinary. I know why he [Chris Nolan] wants to keep it a secret.”
  • Anne’s outfit is more tactical, like the comic book, than the previous Batman movies. She will definitely be wearing the goggles and it’s going to be less sexy than Halle Berry and Michelle Pfeiffer’s Catwoman costumes. She’s going to look more like a robber.  But fan boys shouldn’t be worried. This costume is going to be form-fitting enough to make Anne look smoking hot… Everything from the looks in her eyes, her head movements, her body–everything is so feline. The role is taking her to new places.
  • The following is an e-mail sent out to Carnegie Mellon faculty and staff:

Carnegie Mellon will once again play host to Hollywood, when several scenes for a major motion picture by Warner Bros., currently using the working title “Magnus Rex,” are filmed outside of the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) in late July, and inside and outside of the Mellon Institute in early August. Carnegie Mellon is working closely with the production company to ensure that the university and its students, faculty and staff will benefit from the movie-making experience with minimal disruption to normal operations.
Here’s the skinny on the filming dates, the scenes and parking and traffic restrictions.
Where and When
Scenes will be filmed outside the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) at the intersection of Dithridge and Henry streets from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., Saturday and Sunday, July 30-31.
Scenes will be filmed outside of the Mellon Institute on the Fifth Ave. side from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., Sunday, July 31, and inside of the Mellon Institute’s fourth-floor entrance lobby on Wednesday and Thursday, Aug. 3-4.
Prep work for the filming will be taking place in both locations beginning July 11.

What Will Happen
Scenes outside the SEI, which will be portrayed as a prison, will include an explosion, a prison break, precision stunt driving, gunfire, atmospheric smoke, and controlled pyrotechnic explosions.
Scenes outside the Fifth Ave. entrance of Mellon Institute include a standoff between two rivals that escalates into a riot. One character drives a motorcycle through the fourth floor lobby, out the front doors and down the steps onto Fifth Ave. Special effects include precision stunt driving, gunfire and atmospheric smoke.

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Here is my theory.  And again, there is no method to my madness.  I am not spouting stuff chronologically.  Just spouting.

  • It will be revealed that Ra’s al Ghul trained a young boy who will later become Bane.  We have seen Josh Pence on the set in Instanbul with the giant green screen pool.  I don’t think this is the lazarus pit but the giant well that you see someone climbing out of in the teaser.  I have no idea what it actually is or what is in the well.
  • Bane is in jail and gets broken out by the League of Shadows.  The jail break is hinted at in the Carnegie Mellon e-mail.  I am going to go out on a limb and say the man in the jail cell doing pushups is a young Bane.  So based in that, he is in jail and needs to get out.
  • You presume that Bane set the whole break out up.  Since he trained with Ra’s and the League of Shadows.  But it will be revealed that Marion Cotillard is actually Talia al Ghul and she staged the entire thing.
  • Bane overthrows the entire city.  He challenges Batman to a fight to the death.  In the shot of the two of them fighting from the teaser you can see a man with a gun watching down.  Bane has forced him into some kind of a “ring” where he can not escape or he will be shot.  I believe that Bane is going to nearly kill him, perhaps break his back, and Catwoman will save Batman at the last second.  This will be like half way through the film.
  • Batman will be gone for good now for awhile.  Bane takes out everyone to run Gotham including Commissioner Gordon since he is in a hospital bed.
  • Gordon knows that Bruce Wayne and Batman are one and the same since in the teaser he says that “we were in this together” and that Batman “must come back”.  Look at that shot of Gordon in the hospital bed again.  You see someone’s hand at the bottom which is about level with the bed.  You presume it is Bruce Wayne due to the conversation.  Maybe he is sitting in a chair or maybe he is in a wheelchair after what Bane did to him?
  • I think Selina Kyle will be portrayed as a high end escort for rich businessman.  This is how she gains her information and then she becomes Catwoman at night to rob her clients.

Those are my thoughts, but they are just thoughts.  I would love to hear your thoughts and theories regarding the upcoming film.  Where do you think the story is headed?  Let us know in the comments below.