FILM · 2012 · UK
The Dark Knight Rises
- Directed by
- Christopher Nolan
- Runtime
- 165 min
- Studio
- Syncopy, Legendary Pictures, Warner Bros. Pictures
316 archived facts 8 topics 2 sources Last reviewed Nov 2026
Following the death of District Attorney Harvey Dent, Batman assumes responsibility for Dent's crimes to protect the late attorney's reputation and is subsequently hunted by the Gotham City Police Department. Eight years later, Batman encounters the mysterious Selina Kyle and the villainous Bane, a new terrorist leader who overwhelms Gotham's finest. The Dark Knight resurfaces to protect a city that has branded him…
316 Interesting Facts About The Dark Knight Rises
Interesting Facts (113)
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On the same day of the film's release, the Hub Network aired a 10-episode marathon of Batman: The Animated Series (1992). To promote the marathon, the network re-created the film's trailer using clips from the cartoon, with the original voice actors performing their respective characters' lines.
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The nickname "Catwoman" is never spoken in the movie; rather newspaper articles and police files refer to her as "The Cat". This is in keeping with the original incarnation of the character (not yet named Selina Kyle) who was a jewel thief, and was known only as "The Cat" before becoming "The Catwoman". However, various official merchandise and marketing material refer to Selina Kyle as Catwoman when she is wearing her masked costume. Furthermore, the shooting script refers to Kyle as "Catwoman" when in costume.
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In promotional interviews, Tom Hardy said the fight scenes were the hardest to shoot. It was not because of the physical demands, but because he was such a Batman fan: 'I felt like I was beating up my childhood hero.' Once Nolan called 'Action!', however, Hardy began throwing punches as hard as possible.
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The cafe scene at the end sparked debate: was Bruce really alive, or was Alfred imagining him? In a 2012 interview with the Los Angeles Times, Sir Michael Caine confirmed that the scene was real. The shooting script also states that Bruce is alive. In addition, Selina is wearing Martha Wayne's pearl necklace, and Lucius Fox learns that Bruce fixed the Batwing's autopilot six months earlier, suggesting that Bruce survived the explosion.
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Tom Hardy based Bane's voice on Bartley Gorman, a Welsh Romani traveler who was the undefeated bare-knuckle boxing champion of the United Kingdom. Hardy said, 'The accent choice is actually a bare-knuckle fighter called Bartley Gorman, a Romany Gypsy. I wanted to support the Latin, but not Latino—the Romany Latin.'
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Christopher Nolan wanted Marion Cotillard as Miranda Tate so much that he arranged the shooting schedule around her pregnancy. Cotillard began filming just a month after giving birth to her son Marcel, and Nolan made room for her family on set. During the final months of filming, Cotillard was also shooting Rust and Bone. Nolan described her ability to work immediately after childbirth as 'Superwoman.'
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The Batsuit consisted of 110 separate pieces. The base layer was a polyester mesh used by military and high-tech sports manufacturers, chosen for its breathability and moisture retention. Flexible molded urethane pieces were added over it to form the body armor. Carbon-fiber panels were placed inside the pieces covering the legs, chest and abdomen. The cowl was sculpted from casts of Christian Bale's face and head to fit him precisely.
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In Bruce Wayne's doctor visit around the 30-minute mark, the doctor's list of his degenerative injuries and his use of a mechanical knee brace recall Mark Waid and Alex Ross's comic-book miniseries Kingdom Come. In that story, an older Bruce Wayne uses an exoskeleton to move because of years of physical wear and tear.
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According to co-writer Jonathan Nolan, a major influence on the story was Charles Dickens's A Tale of Two Cities, a novel about revolution and class conflict. In tribute, two characters were named Stryver and Barsad. When Commissioner Gordon delivers Bruce's eulogy, he also uses the novel's closing monologue about its hero Sydney Carton, who sacrifices himself as Batman does.
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About 10,000 extras were used for the Gotham Rogues game at Pittsburgh's Heinz Field. Steelers players Hines Ward, Ben Roethlisberger, Troy Polamalu and others played football players, while former coach Bill Cowher appeared as himself. Mayor Luke Ravenstahl played a kicker. Access to the stadium was facilitated by Thomas Tull, CEO of the film's production company Legendary Pictures, being a part-owner of the Steelers.
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Contrary to a common misconception, the Batman comics do not depict Ra's al Ghul and his daughter Talia al Ghul as having Arab-Asian features, nor is Bane of Hispanic-Caribbean descent. Comic artist Neal Adams modeled Ra's al Ghul on Jack Palance; the character originally belonged to a group of global nomads of Chinese origin. Although Bane grew up on the fictional Caribbean island of Santa Prisca, his father is actually the British gangster King Snake.
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Part of the film involves Bane destroying a football stadium. Earlier plans considered staging the event at a hockey or basketball game and incorporating the demolition of Pittsburgh's vacant Mellon Arena. However, the city faced complications and a lawsuit over the arena's fate, and filming had finished by the time demolition began.
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This is the first Batman film in which Batman does not use the Batmobile. He uses only the Batpod and the Bat, the flying vehicle. Although several Tumbler variants appear, they are all used by Bane and his men after being stolen from Wayne Enterprises' Applied Sciences Division, and have desert camouflage; it could therefore be said that the Batmobile does not appear at all.
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David S. Goyer initially did not want Catwoman in this film: 'Batman has been published for 70 years. In the first film, we used Ra's Al Ghul and Scarecrow, who had never appeared in the films before... There are dozens, hundreds of other [villains]... Everybody says, "It has to be Penguin or Catwoman," and I completely disagree.'
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Marion Cotillard says she 'messed up' her death scene. After the crash, her character Miranda Tate delivers a monologue in an awkward position. Fans say the oddness of Cotillard's performance undermines the scene's emotional impact. Cotillard agrees with the criticism, saying, 'I couldn't pull off that scene.'
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John Blake tells Bruce Wayne that he has known his secret identity for years but kept quiet. This resembles Reese discovering Bruce's dual identity in The Dark Knight and blackmailing Lucius Fox. Unlike Reese, however, Blake keeps the secret knowing that he has no evidence and nobody would believe him; he also believes in Batman and his cause.
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At the end, Blake asks the female clerk to 'try my legal name' while checking whether Bruce Wayne left him anything. In the United States, a legal name consists of a first name, a middle name if any, and a surname. This scene reveals Joseph Gordon-Levitt's character's full name as John Robin Blake.
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The family photograph visible at 1 hour, 46 minutes and 16 seconds is a real photograph. It was taken in Washington, DC, at the 70th birthday party of a family member, Tamar Hendel Fishman. The crew used it while looking for a family that suited the film's aesthetic. The photograph shows the Fishman Harris family: Tamar Hendel Fishman on the left, Rebecca Fishman on the right, Henry Harris, Jacoba Fishman Harris in the middle wearing a pink dress and bow, Lila Fishman Harris on Rebecca's lap, and Adam Fishman Harris climbing on Henry.
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Contains a major spoiler — show
The first Batman movie not to feature Batman driving the Batmobile. He only uses the Batpod and the Bat (flying vehicle). While several variations of Tumblers do make an appearance, they are all operated by Bane and his thugs, after they steal them from Wayne Enterprises' Applied Science Division, and these have a desert camouflage paint job, so it could be argued that the Batmobile doesn't make any appearance at all.
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Contains a major spoiler — show
(at around 15 mins) When Bruce Wayne traces the fake fingerprints that Catwoman was wearing when she cracked his safe, the result shows a "Nikolai Ondrejko". This is the same name that was used by the Joker to author the fake obituary for the Mayor in The Dark Knight (2008).
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Contains a major spoiler — show
In all three of Sir Christopher Nolan The Dark Knight movies, the spiked gauntlets on Batman's arms prove to be essential in defeating the main villain. They shatter Ra's al Ghul's sword in Batman Begins (2005), knock the detonator out of the Joker's hands in The Dark Knight (2008), and damage Bane's mask in this movie.
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Production Story (31)
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David S. Goyer originally didn't want to include Catwoman in this movie, "Batman has been published for 70 years. In the first movie, we used Ra's Al Ghul and the Scarecrow, who had not been in the movies before, and had not been in the '60s TV show before... There are dozens if not hundreds of other [villains]... Everyone says it's got to be the Penguin or Catwoman... well I completely disagree."
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The Joker does not appear in this film nor are there any references this was done out of respect for Heath Ledger who died before the release of the Dark Knight leaving the Joker's fate following the events of the Dark Knight unknown but there is a theory Joker was either sent to Arkham Asylum or simply vanished without explanation.
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David S Goyer had writers block whilst trying to write the third act of Dark Knight Rises. Christopher Nolan said they should have a break for a week and come back with a fresh mindset. During that week off Goyer was reading some Superman comics and came up with an idea for a Superman movie that he told to Nolan. Nolan was impressed with it and agreed to produce his idea. This idea went on to be Man of Steel (2013)
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The Riddler was rumored to be a villain in this movie, with Johnny Depp, Jude Law, Crispin Glover, Michael Keaton, Nicolas Cage, Adrien Brody, Robin Williams, Eddie Murphy, Steve Carell, Neil Patrick Harris, Giovanni Ribisi, Michael Emerson, and Michael C. Hall among the names fans suggested to play him.
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In 2019, Christian Bale revealed that sometime after the third film was released, Warner Bros. approached him to make a fourth film. Although he said he would be delighted, he would only accept if Sir Christopher Nolan was involved as director. Obviously Nolan rejected the offer and the project wasn't continued.
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In designing the Batwing, production designer Nathan Crowley approached it as if it were an actual military project, emphasizing the need for it to "fit into the same family as the Tumbler and the Batpod". He incorporated designs from military aircraft, including the Harrier Jump Jet, Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey, and the Boeing AH-64 Apache.
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Anne Hathaway has revealed that during her audition, she thought that she was auditioning for the Joker's on again-off again girlfriend/partner-in-crime Harley Quinn. It was only after she had a discussion with Sir Christopher Nolan that she found out that she was auditioning for Catwoman.
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About a year before this movie's release, writer, producer, and director Sir Christopher Nolan mentioned he was considering using a mixture of CGI and deleted scenes from The Dark Knight (2008) to have the Joker appear briefly, which Bryan Singer had done to bring back Marlon Brando as Jor-El in Superman Returns (2006). Nolan ultimately decided it was disrespectful to Heath Ledger.
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Producer Charles Roven explained Sir Christopher Nolan's vision for Bane, "He didn't really want Bane to be a Mr. Universe, have this beautiful body. He wanted him to look... big, tough... almost like a circus strongman... and that's what his body looked like. You don't want to get near that body."
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Sir Christopher Nolan said, "There are no good third sequels, basically. Rocky III (1982), maybe. But they are very difficult. So my instinct was to change genres. The first one is an origin story. The second one is a crime drama very much like Heat (1995), and the third one, we needed to blow up bigger, because you can't scale down. The audience doesn't give you any choice, but nor can you go back and do what you did before. So you've got to shift genres. We went for the historical epic, the disaster film, The Towering Inferno (1974) meets Doctor Zhivago (1965)."
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Writer, producer, and director Sir Christopher Nolan wanted Marion Cotillard so much for the role of Miranda Tate that he modified the filming schedule to accommodate her pregnancy. When Nolan invited Cotillard for this movie in 2010, she told him that she was pregnant, and didn't know if she would be able to do it, but Nolan decided to keep her in the movie. Cotillard started filming just one month after giving birth to her son Marcel, and Nolan also made room on-set for her family. In the last months of filming, Cotillard also shot another movie at the same time in France, Rust and Bone (2012). She was flying back and forth between the U.S. and France to shoot both movies. During an interview for Vogue magazine in August 2012, Nolan marveled at Cotillard's ability to do her job so soon after giving birth, calling it "amazing to see" and describing her as "Superwoman".
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Anne Hathaway has said that she desperately coveted the role of Catwoman, and was a complete nervous wreck after her audition. The first time her agent phoned after her screentest, he said he had good news and asked if Hathaway was sitting down. Hathaway immediately screamed "I'm Catwoman!" and ran around the room in a frenzy. Unfortunately, her agent had to calm Hathaway down. He had called to let her know that she'd been invited to host the Academy Awards. Hathaway has said she was so shocked she went numb at the offer. Fortunately, shortly thereafter, her agent phoned again to let her know that she had been offered the part of Catwoman as well.
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In David S. Goyer's initial outline, prepared before Batman Begins, Two-Face was the trilogy's main antagonist. At the end of The Dark Knight, the Joker would injure Harvey Dent during a court hearing, setting up the third film. Dent's downfall and death were instead moved into the second film. Nolan said he wanted each film to tell a complete, self-contained story and felt that hinting at sequels was unfair to audiences.
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Contains a major spoiler — show
Christian Bale has stated that he would not play Batman if Robin appeared anywhere in the trilogy. Sir Christopher Nolan agreed not to include Robin, as it would undermine the dark tone of his series. At the end of this movie, Detective John Blake's (Joseph Gordon-Levitt's) legal name is revealed to be "Robin", and he quits the Police force, and is shown to enter the Batcave by following the instructions presumably left by Bruce Wayne in his will.
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Contains a major spoiler — show
Part of this movie involves the destruction of a football stadium by Bane. At earlier points, it was considered that this event would be at either a hockey or basketball game, to go along with the demolition of Pittsburgh's now-vacant Mellon Arena. Unfortunately, the city of Pittsburgh had difficulties, and a court case in deciding the fate of the arena that, by the time demolition began, filming was finished.
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Contains a major spoiler — show
Originally Chief Peter Foley was to be killed by being crushed by the tumbler Talia rides in. Though the scene was changed to having Foley being shot by it off screen, the film's novelization by Greg Cox retains his more gruesome fate describing, "The armored vehicle smashed into Foley without even slowing down."
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Contains a major spoiler — show
The final shooting script features several deleted/extended scenes not found in this movie. Most are "character moments", though some also clarify details of the plot. * A conversation between the two thugs that capture Commissioner Gordon where they debate killing him before taking him to Bane (giving a direct explanation on how Gordon learned Bane's name). * A scene at Wayne Enterprises where Miranda warns Lucius Fox that Daggett is trying to take control of the company. * Bruce testing the leg brace in the Batcave, explaining to Alfred how it works to match the muscle patterns of his uninjured leg. * A longer and slightly different scene outside the stock exchange and a lengthy chase scene between Bane, the Police, and Batman, where they race around Gotham. * An argument in the Batcave between Bruce and Alfred revealing that Bruce bought up all the land and homes surrounding Wayne Manor to prevent anyone from seeing him coming and going as Batman. An extended, much more heated confrontation between Bruce and Alfred. Alfred threatens to leave Wayne Manor if Bruce continues as Batman, and Bruce argues that since Rachel Dawes' death, Batman is his only reason to live. * A longer conversation between Bruce, Miranda, and Fox discussing the reactor and Dr. Pavel. * An extended conversation between Bruce and Blake in Blake's car, where Blake gives Bruce cash for cab fare. * A much extended scene of Bane storming Blackgate Prison. Bane burns a picture of Harvey Dent and explains that Dent became the villain Two-Face after his injuries and encourages the city's poor to attack the wealthy and powerful before he destroys Blackgate, releasing all of the inmates. * A brief scene of Selina escaping Blackgate. * Mercenaries are seen witnessing the Batsignal on Gotham Bridge. Afterwards Foely opens up his uniform from his floorboards. * After Batman defeats Bane. Bane confesses that his devotion to Ra's al Guhl stems from the League of Shadows rescuing him from the pit. A flashback scene then shows Ra's al Guhl training Bane, who he has provided with a crude prototype mask to numb his pain. * A scene of Talia al Ghul openly taking charge of the League of Shadows to form a convoy to detonate the neutron bomb. She then floods the reactor core and, as in this movie, Fox tries to escape, though even the finished scenes of Fox in the movie occur earlier in the script version. * A longer argument between Blake and the Army blockade on Gotham Bridge. Blake argues with the commanding officer, trying to convince him that Batman has returned, and battle has broken out in the city streets. In the script, after Batman harnesses the bomb to The Bat, he's never seen again, The Bat simply flies out to sea, and the bomb detonates. The scene of Fox and the technicians examining the autopilot of The Bat then follows, with Fox realizing that Batman had ejected before the bomb detonated, and that Bruce Wayne must have survived the explosion. Bruce is last seen with Selina Kyle by Alfred at the cafe.
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Contains a major spoiler — show
The original story treatment by David S. Goyer, as outlined before the production of Batman Begins (2005), was to have Two-Face as the principal antagonist for this movie. Initially, at the end of The Dark Knight (2008), the Joker would have scarred Harvey Dent at a courtroom trial, setting up the third movie. Dent's death and fall was put in at the end of the second movie instead, to set up the aftermath that follows. Following the release of this movie, writer, producer, and director Sir Christopher Nolan elaborated on his choice to include the Two-Face story in the prior movie. He wanted each movie to stand on its own as a complete story, and not "tease" any sequels, a practice that had become common in comic book movies. Nolan feels that holding back story or leaving a movie open-ended for a sequel on which to build is a cheat to the audience, which deserves to see a movie that has consumed all of the filmmakers' creative energy.
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Contains a major spoiler — show
While making Man of Steel (2013), director Zack Snyder considered setting the film in the same universe as this film. That film or a sequel was slated to feature Joseph Gordon-Levitt reprising the role of John Blake, who would have taken up the mantle of Batman. However, this concept was abandoned and Ben Affleck ended up being cast as Bruce Wayne/Batman for the series.
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Contains a major spoiler — show
Eva Green, Naomi Watts, Rachel Weisz, and Kate Winslet were considered to play Miranda Tate, before Marion Cotillard finally got the role in February 2011, when she was six months pregnant. Cotillard started filming one month after she gave birth to her son, Marcel. In October 2010, it was reported that she had turned down the roles of Catwoman and Talia al Ghul in this movie, but as of 2016, there is no official confirmation that she was considered to play Catwoman.
Behind the Scenes (46)
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During the sewer sequence Tom Hardy and Christian Bale couldn't hear each other because there was too much white noise. They would say their respective lines and miss their queues because they couldn't tell each other were done speaking particularly due to the masks. After a scolding by the director, they started discretely raising a finger at the end of their lines to signal the other to talk.
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Around 10,000 extras were used to shoot the Gotham Rogues scene in Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Some of the Pittsburgh Steelers played football players: Hines Ward, Ben Roethlisberger, Troy Polamalu, Willie Colon, Maurkice Pouncey, Mike Wallace, Heath Miller, Aaron Smith, Ryan Clark, James Farrior, LaMarr Woodley, and Casey Hampton. Former Steelers coach Bill Cowher appeared as the coach. Pittsburgh Mayor Luke R. Ravenstahl played a kicker. Thomas Tull, C.E.O. of this movie's production company, Legendary Pictures, is part-owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
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Cinematographer Wally Pfister expressed interest in shooting the entirety of this movie in the IMAX format, as Pfister and Sir Christopher Nolan expressed distaste for shooting this movie in 3-D. Ultimately, this movie featured approximately one hour and twelve minutes of IMAX footage, while the rest was shot in a combination of 35mm and 70mm, as IMAX cameras proved to be too noisy for shooting the dialogue scenes.
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The Batsuit consisted of one hundred ten separate pieces. The base layer was made of a polyester mesh, utilized by the military and high-tech sports manufacturers due to its breathability and moisture-retaining properties. Molded pieces of flexible urethane were then attached to the mesh to form the overall body armor plating. Carbon fiberpanels were placed inside the sections on the legs, chest, and abdomen. The cowl was sculpted from a cast of Christian Bale's face and head to become a perfect fit for Bale.
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While doing promotional interviews for this movie, Tom Hardy stated that the most difficult parts of the movie to shoot were the fight scenes. Not because of the physicality of them, but because he was such a huge Batman fan growing up that he said "it felt like I was beating up my childhood hero." However, he also said that despite his worship of the character, the moment Sir Christopher Nolan yelled "Action!", Hardy just started throwing punches as hard as he could.
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According to costume designer Lindy Hemming, she took two years to design Bane's coat. It was inspired by a Swedish Army jacket and a French Revolution frock coat, to make Bane look equally dictatorial and revolutionary ("like an amalgam of all sorts of bits and pieces he cobbled together as he passed through some very remote places.").
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Glen Powell revealed that Tom Hardy accidentally gave him a concussion when he slammed his head against a keyboard in the stock exchange scene. Sir Christopher Nolan jokingly suggested another take before sending Powell to the medic. Powell said, "Tom Hardy is not a weak man. He's a force."
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Although Wally Pfister worked on all three The Dark Knight movies, the styles changed drastically from the start of the trilogy. In Batman Begins (2005), the fight scenes are shot with predominantly shaky-cam technique, whereas in this movie, the fight scenes were shot very smoothly, with little to no shaky-cam style.
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During Bane's first encounter with Batman, Bane's footsteps on the steel grating of the walkways produce loud, heavy thuds, while Batman's footsteps make little sound at all. This was done by the sound effects team to further contrast Bane's "brute" style from Batman's "stealth" method of combat.
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The lobby of New York's Trump Tower was used as the entrance for Wayne Enterprises. During filming, Christian Bale met Donald Trump, and later said, "I think he thought I was Bruce Wayne because I was dressed as Bruce Wayne. So he talked to me like I was Bruce Wayne and I just went along with it, really. It was quite entertaining."
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The football stadium scene was filmed at Heinz Field, home of the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers' team colors are black and yellow, same as the Gotham Rogues. The fans were also seen twirling yellow rally towels, a nod to the real-life "Terrible Towel" made famous by the Steelers and their long time announcer Myron Cope.
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The family photo that appears at the 1 hour 46 minute and 16-second mark is a real family photo. The photo was taken at a family member's (Tamar Hendel FIshmans) 70th birthday party in Washington DC. The reason it was used was that they were looking for a matchy-matchy family that fit the aesthetic of the film and the scene. The photo features the Fishman Harris family. Tamar Hendel Fishman (left), Rebecca Fishman (right), henry harris, Jacoba Fishman Harris (center with pink dress and bow), Lila Fishman Harris (on Rebecca's lap), and Adam Fishman Harris (climbing on henry).
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According to The Hollywood Reporter, Anne Hathaway's stunt double crashed the Batpod into an IMAX camera, breaking it. This was the second time an IMAX camera had been destroyed on a Christopher Nolan production; the first was while shooting the Joker's underground truck chase in The Dark Knight.
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Cinematographer Wally Pfister wanted to shoot the entire film in IMAX, but neither Pfister nor Nolan was enthusiastic about 3D. Ultimately, the film contains about an hour and twelve minutes of IMAX footage, while the rest was shot using a combination of 35mm and 70mm, because IMAX cameras were too noisy for dialogue scenes.
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The lobby of New York's Trump Tower served as the entrance to Wayne Enterprises. During filming, Christian Bale met Donald Trump and said, 'I think he thought I was Bruce Wayne because I was dressed as Bruce Wayne. So he talked to me as though I were Bruce Wayne, and I went along with it. It was quite amusing.'
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In a September 2020 interview, Christopher Nolan revealed that Foley's death was more graphic. Originally, the Tumbler carrying Miranda, or Talia, ran over Foley, threw him into the air and finally crushed him. The scene was actually filmed, and leaked footage recorded by fans during filming in New York can even be found on YouTube, but in the editing room Nolan feared an NC-17 rating and chose to alter the scene to the version in the final cut.
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Contains a major spoiler — show
Steelers coach Bill Cowher almost blew himself up in front of 18,000 people during filming of the Gotham Rogues stadium scene. Cowher raffled off prizes for the audience, waved goodbye, and walked halfway across the field into a minefield of detonation charges. He was apparently unaware that he was stepping through high explosives.
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Contains a major spoiler — show
In an interview on September 2020, Christopher Nolan revealed that Foley's death was more graphic. Originally, the Tumbler in which Miranda (Talia) was travelling, drove over Foley, launched him into the air and finally crushed him. The scene was actually filmed (you could even find some leaked footage recorded by fans while the scene was filmed in New York, on Youtube) but in the editing room, Nolan chose to change it, leaving it as it is on the final cut, due to him being afraid that the film would have received a NC-17 rating.
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Contains a major spoiler — show
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Anne Hathaway's stunt double broke one of the IMAX cameras when she crashed the Batpod into it. This marks the second time an IMAX camera was destroyed on a Sir Christopher Nolan Dark Knight movie. A previous camera was smashed when filming the Joker's underground truck chase in The Dark Knight (2008).
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Contains a major spoiler — show
Though not shown in the final cut, the fight scene on Gotham City Hall steps included an explosion that cleared the steps of all the fighters still alive. When filming the actual explosion, the heat triggered a fire alarm that went directly to the authorities, which caused production to stop for more than thirty minutes while the movie staff cleared everything with the police and fire marshal when they arrived.
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Contains a major spoiler — show
In the scene at the end where the lawyer's clerk (Jillian Armenante) reveals John Blake's real name, the word "Robin" was dubbed-in during post-production to keep this a secret from all of the crew, including Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who were on-set at the time.
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Characters & Cast (23)
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As of 2023, this is the only live-action Batman production featuring Catwoman/Selina Kyle where she does not use her trademark whip weapon. She famously uses it in 'Batman Returns' and in a scene in 'The Batman', she uses a whip-like rope to attack some of the Penguin's men. Interestingly, all three live-action performances where Catwoman uses her whip (discounting Halle Berry's portrayal in 'Catwoman'), the Penguin/Oswald Cobblepott III is a villain, also.
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According to Tom Hardy, over a decade after playing Bane, he is still greatly associated as the character, with him explaining, "people will come up to me on their motorbikes and be like, 'Whoa, I always thought you were much bigger.' And I'll be like, 'Nah, I was just bald and slightly porky.'"
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The nickname "Catwoman" is never spoken in the movie; rather newspaper articles and police files refer to her as "The Cat". This is in keeping with the original incarnation of the character (not yet named Selina Kyle) who was a jewel thief, and was known only as "The Cat" before becoming "The Catwoman". However, various official merchandise and marketing material refer to Selina Kyle as Catwoman when she is wearing her masked costume. Furthermore, the shooting script refers to Kyle as "Catwoman" when in costume.
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According to Tom Hardy, he based his voice for Bane on Bartley Gorman (1944 - 2002), a Welsh Irish Traveller who was the undefeated bare-knuckle boxing champion of the United Kingdom: "The choice of the accent is actually a man called Bartley Gorman, who was a bare knuckle fighter, a Romani gypsy. So I wanted to underpin the Latin, but a Romani Latin opposed to Latino."
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Anne Hathaway has said that she desperately coveted the role of Catwoman, and was a complete nervous wreck after her audition. The first time her agent phoned after her screentest, he said he had good news and asked if Hathaway was sitting down. Hathaway immediately screamed "I'm Catwoman!" and ran around the room in a frenzy. Unfortunately, her agent had to calm Hathaway down. He had called to let her know that she'd been invited to host the Academy Awards. Hathaway has said she was so shocked she went numb at the offer. Fortunately, shortly thereafter, her agent phoned again to let her know that she had been offered the part of Catwoman as well.
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In 2019, Christian Bale revealed that sometime after the third film was released, Warner Bros. approached him to make a fourth film. Although he said he would be delighted, he would only accept if Sir Christopher Nolan was involved as director. Obviously Nolan rejected the offer and the project wasn't continued.
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Talia al Ghul was to be one of the villains in George Miller's canceled Justice League: Mortal, with Teresa Palmer cast in 2007. Palmer expressed interest in playing Talia in this film but said, 'I don't think I'd be high on Nolan's list; they'll probably go for actresses with much bigger profiles than mine.'
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Contains a major spoiler — show
In the comics, Bane carried an apparatus that contains a steroid that amplifies his strength and fighting ability. In this movie, the apparatus he carries contains an anesthetic, as he is in chronic pain. In the comics and this movie, Batman defeats Bane in a similar way, by damaging his mask, depriving him of the drug.
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Contains a major spoiler — show
Bane is the only main trilogy villain whose death is explicitly shown onscreen. In Batman Begins (2005), it can be assumed Ducard is killed in the falling monorail carriage, but do not see his body. In The Dark Knight (2008), the Joker does not die at all, thereby making Bane the only primary villain to be seen dying on-screen.
Easter Eggs & References (69)
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The orphanage where Blake grew up and later visits in this movie is named St. Swithin's. In England, St. Swithin's Day is July 15, and tradition says the weather on this day will repeat for the next forty days. The rhyme goes: "St. Swithin's Day, if thou dost rain, for forty days it will remain. St. Swithin's Day, if thou be fair, for forty days 'twill rain nae mair." Water and rain are common motifs in writer, producer, and director Sir Christopher Nolan's movies.
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(at around 9 mins) When referring to Bruce Wayne as a shut-in, Daggett says "We all know he's up there with eight-inch nails and mason jars full of urine." This is a reference to reclusive and eccentric billionaire Howard Hughes. Sir Christopher Nolan was, at one point, attached to direct a Howard Hughes biopic.
- #233
Selina Kyle's (Anne Hathaway's) relationship with her accomplice (Juno Temple) is highly reminiscent of Kyle's relationship with Holly Robinson in the comic "Batman: Year One". In that story, Kyle and Robinson had been sex workers together, and even had an implied lesbian relationship before Kyle became Catwoman.
- #234
(at around 41 mins) During the brief conversation in the Gotham Stock Exchange between Trader #1 (Glen Powell) and Trader #2 (Ben Cornish), the first tells the other: "Wayne coming back is change. Change is either good or bad. I vote bad." When Trader #2 questions the first how he knows it, this one replies: "I flipped a coin." This is a hint for Harvey Dent/Two Faces, who flipped a coin to let live or kill people in The Dark Knight (2008).
- #235
During the football sequence shown in the trailer, a player is seen wearing a jersey with the last name of Ravenstahl on it. This is Luke R. Ravenstahl, the Mayor of Pittsburgh, where portions of the movie were shot. He was Washington & Jefferson College's starting place kicker on the football team for three years, and was team Captain for his senior year. He holds the school record for most consecutive extra points.
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In the football scene in the trailer, the surname Ravenstahl is visible on a player's jersey. This references Luke R. Ravenstahl, mayor of Pittsburgh, where part of the film was shot. Ravenstahl was the starting kicker for three years at Washington & Jefferson College and team captain in his final year; he holds the school record for the most consecutive extra points.
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In a brief exchange at the Gotham Stock Exchange, Trader #1, played by Glen Powell, tells Trader #2, Ben Cornish, 'Wayne coming back is a change. Change is either good or bad. I say bad.' When Trader #2 asks how he knows, the answer is, 'I flipped a coin.' This references Harvey Dent/Two-Face flipping a coin in The Dark Knight (2008).
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Contains a major spoiler — show
(at around 46 mins) When Batman is chasing after Bane for the first time, after the stock exchange robbery, an older policeman tells his younger partner to "sit back, you're in for a show". This is an almost direct quote from the graphic novel "Batman: The Dark Knight Returns".
- #255
Contains a major spoiler — show
In all three of Sir Christopher Nolan The Dark Knight movies, the spiked gauntlets on Batman's arms prove to be essential in defeating the main villain. They shatter Ra's al Ghul's sword in Batman Begins (2005), knock the detonator out of the Joker's hands in The Dark Knight (2008), and damage Bane's mask in this movie.
- #256
Contains a major spoiler — show
(at around 15 mins) When Bruce Wayne traces the fake fingerprints that Catwoman was wearing when she cracked his safe, the result shows a "Nikolai Ondrejko". This is the same name that was used by the Joker to author the fake obituary for the Mayor in The Dark Knight (2008).
- #257
Contains a major spoiler — show
Selina's method of escaping Wayne Manor is highly reminiscent of a tall tale involving one of Catwoman's inspirations, Hedy Lamarr, who Anne Hathaway studied for the role. Lamarr claimed she escaped her possessive Austrian arms dealer husband by dressing as one of her maids, collecting all of her jewelry, and jumping out of a window.
- #258
Contains a major spoiler — show
The citizens of Gotham make several attempts, without Batman's aid, to rise up against Bane and the League of Shadows. These attempts all fail because they are caught by members of the League, indicating someone had sold them out. Miranda Tate appeared with rebellious citizens in each of these scenes.
- #259
Contains a major spoiler — show
(at around 33 mins) At the charity ball, Miranda Tate says "you must invest if you wish to restore balance to the world", hinting at her true identity as Talia al Ghul. In Batman Begins (2005), Ra's al Ghul says that the mission of the League of Shadows is to restore balance to the world.
- #260
Contains a major spoiler — show
(at around 27 mins) When Officer Blake mentions giant alligators in the sewers, this is a reference to Killer Croc (who made his big-screen debut in Suicide Squad (2016)). In the comics, Killer Croc has clashed with Bane, the main villain. Bane broke both of Croc's arms, before fighting Batman and breaking his back.
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Contains a major spoiler — show
Though the ending implies Bruce Wayne left Gotham taking only his mother's pearl necklace, it is never proven. However, in the novelization by Greg Cox, it is described that when Alfred sees Bruce and Selina sitting at the table ahead of him, Selina is wearing the pearl necklace.
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Contains a major spoiler — show
When the Gotham Rogue player, Hines Ward, returns the opening kickoff for a touchdown, the stadium clock shows 13 seconds have elapsed. This is a reasonable time for a football player to run the length of the field, including dodging tacklers (and not realizing the stadium is exploding all around him). The official scorekeeper must have also been very devoted to his job (or oblivious), since he would have had to manually stop the game clock when Ward scored the touchdown, despite the stadium and football field exploding during the opening play.
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Contains a major spoiler — show
John Blake's real name, Robin, is an allusion to the character in Batman comic books, movies, and television shows. Robin was added to the Batman comic books in 1940, to attract younger readers, and the character eventually evolved into a solo superhero, Nightwing. Blake, though an original character, combines elements of the various Robins from the comics, an orphan (like Dick Grayson), a street kid (like Jason Todd), and a skilled detective who deduces Batman's true identity (like Tim Drake), all of whom trained as Batman's sidekick, with the implication that they one day would don the Batman costume.
- #266
Contains a major spoiler — show
During one of the scenes involving the kangaroo court, Bane can be seen sitting in the rear of the courtroom quietly knitting. Given the numerous allusions to Charles Dickens' "A Tale of Two Cities" in this movie, this is presumably an allusion to Madame Defarge and her practice of knitting while watching public guillotine executions.
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Contains a major spoiler — show
(at around 1h 15 mins) During the fight between Bane and Batman in the sewers, Bane lifts Batman above his head and drops him across his knee. This is a direct parallel to the first fight between Batman and Bane from the comics, where Bane broke Batman's back during the "Knightfall" storyline.
- #269
Contains a major spoiler — show
(at around 30 mins) Bruce Wayne's doctor visit, in which the doctor lists off all the degenerative injuries to his body (lack of cartilage, scar tissue, etc) and the use of a mechanical knee brace, are reminiscent of the 4 issue comic mini-series "Kingdom Come" created by Mark Waid and Alex Ross (set in a hypothetical future), where an older Bruce Wayne requires the use of an exoskeleton to move, due to years of physical wear and tear on his body.
- #270
Contains a major spoiler — show
Bane has a triangular scar on the side of his head, most visible during the stock exchange scene. Miranda Tate has an identical scar on her back, noticeable during her love scene with Bruce, thus another hint at her membership in the League of Shadows and true identity as Talia al Ghul.
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Contains a major spoiler — show
(at around 2h) In a final bit of foreshadowing as to her character's true nature, Miranda Tate, after Bruce apologizes for being unable to get her out of the city, tells Bruce to "do what is necessary." Her father, Ra's al Ghul, repeatedly derides Bruce for lacking "the courage to do what is necessary" in Batman Begins (2005).
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Contains a major spoiler — show
(at around 27 mins) In their first meeting John Blake tells Bruce Wayne that he knew his double identity as Batman years ago, but he kept silence about it. It mirrors the same situation of The Dark Knight (2008), where Wayne Enterprises' employee Reese (Joshua Harto) also discovers Bruce's duplicity as Batman and blackmails Lucius Fox demanding a great amount of money for not revealing it to the media. Unlike Reese, Blake keeps the secret knowing that he hasn't evidences about it and nobody would believe him in addition that also, unlike Reese, Blake believes in Batman and the cause he fights.
- #276
Contains a major spoiler — show
When Bruce hallucinates and sees Ra's Al-Ghul, Ra's says to Bruce "There are many forms of immortality" when Bruce mentions his death. In the comics, Ra's Al-Ghul rejuvenated his body in a chemical pit called The Lazarus Pit which regenerated his body, allowed him to cheat death and de-aged him.
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Contains a major spoiler — show
(at around 1h 45 mins) The villainous character portrayed by Liam Neeson, Ra's al Ghul, who died by the end of the first movie, makes an appearance before Bruce Wayne's eyes, claiming to be immortal the whole time, only to be revealed as a hallucination. This is a reference to Ra's al Ghul's comic book counterpart, in which the character is immortal by the use of Lazarus Pits.
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Contains a major spoiler — show
The same musical cue is used in all three movies of The Dark Knight trilogy when Batman deals the final blow to his main adversary. All three of these moments involve gravity getting the best of the villain. The train careens off the tracks in Batman Begins (2005) with Ra's al Ghul inside. The Joker falls off the Pruitt Building in The Dark Knight (2008), and Talia al Ghul drives off the upper level of Grand Avenue in this movie.
Deeper Meaning (20)
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In the opening scene, a ghost plane is used to transport the prisoners for the CIA. A ghost plane, also known as Rendition aircraft, is an aircraft used by national governments to move prisoners internationally. Rendition, or extraordinary rendition, itself refers to the practice of sending a foreign criminal or terrorist suspect covertly to be interrogated in a country with less rigorous regulations for the humane treatment of prisoners.
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Writer, producer, and director Sir Christopher Nolan used a heavy mask motif through out the movie; Batman, Bane, and Catwoman all wear masks, Bruce Wayne has a collection of African tribal masks in the room where he and Officer Blake first talk in Wayne Manor, and Miranda Tate hosts a masquerade party.
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John Blake's real name, Robin, is a nod to Batman's sidekick. Blake combines traits of several comic-book Robins: an orphan like Dick Grayson, a street kid like Jason Todd and a detective who deduces Batman's identity like Tim Drake. All were trained as Batman's partners, with hints that they might one day inherit the costume.
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The film is the culmination of the idea Bruce Wayne expresses to Alfred in Batman Begins: 'People need dramatic examples to shake them out of apathy... As a symbol, I can be incorruptible, I can be everlasting.' Bane's threat brings Batman out of exile, he is vindicated in the public's eyes, and his sacrifice makes him an everlasting symbol.
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Rising and falling is one of the film's central motifs. Bane rises from the plane wreckage; Bruce and Talia fall into the Pit and climb out; Gotham's police descend into the tunnels, become trapped and are rescued; Talia falls to her death in an underpass; and Blake rises into the Batcave to become the new Batman.
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Contains a major spoiler — show
One of the motifs in the film is the concept of ascent and descent. Bane rises from the wreckage of the plane. Both Bruce and Talia are placed in The Pit, and rise from it. The Gotham Police descend into the tunnels to capture Bane and rise after being trapped there. Talia dies after crashing the transporter in an underpass. And finally, Blake rises into The Batcave to become the new Batman.
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Contains a major spoiler — show
According to co-writer Jonathan Nolan, a major influence on this story was Charles Dickens' socio-political novel "A Tale of Two Cities", which dealt with revolution and class conflict. In an homage to the story, two characters in this movie are named Stryver and Barsad, after two similarly named characters in the book. Also, when Commissioner Gordon gives a eulogy for Bruce, he uses the ending soliloquy in regards to Batman, who, like the novel's hero Sydney Carton, sacrificed himself to save people.
- #299
Contains a major spoiler — show
Some viewers found the scene at the end of the movie ambiguous, in which Alfred sees Bruce and Selina at a café. While some took it at face value (that Bruce survived and Alfred really saw him), others thought that Bruce was dead, and saw the café scene as a non-literal fantasy nod to Alfred's stated wish from earlier in the movie that Bruce might be able to someday find peace, and a normal life. In a December 2012 interview with the Los Angeles Times, Sir Michael Caine seemed to settle the question when he said that Bruce was supposed to be unambiguously alive during the scene: "They were there. They were real. There was no imagination. They were real and he was with Anne Hathaway (who played Selina Kyle), the cat lady, and I was happy ever after for him, as I told him during the picture." Furthermore, the shooting script also specifies that Bruce is alive during the café scene. A line of spoken dialogue towards the end of this movie also notes that Martha Wayne's pearls are missing from the Wayne estate. In the final scene, Selina is seen wearing the necklace. Plus, while Lucius Fox is going over information about the Batwing, it's noted that the autopilot was repaired by Bruce Wayne six months prior to their reviewing the logs, hinting that Bruce was able to use it to save himself from blowing up.
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Contains a major spoiler — show
In each part of The Dark Knight trilogy, Batman/Bruce Wayne has either a friend who turns into the villain or vice versa: Batman Begins (2005): Ra's al Ghul trains Bruce Wayne, and then turns against him. The Dark Knight (2008): Harvey Dent a.k.a. Two-Face is an ally of Bruce Wayne, then afterwards, opposes Batman, blaming him for Rachel's death, and his transformation. This movie: Catwoman/Selina Kyle initially steals from Bruce Wayne (Lamborghini and necklace), then tricks him into Bane's underground hiding. Near the end, she sides with Batman over Bane. Also, Miranda is initially an ally of Bruce Wayne and Wayne Enterprises. Near the end, she reveals herself to be the villain Talia al Ghul all along.
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Contains a major spoiler — show
It is always alluded that Bane is the child that escapes from The Pit by the use of non-specific terms such as simply "a child" rather than "young boy" or "young girl" and the character having a shaved head. This allusion is fed back to Bruce in the form of the hallucination of Ra's al Ghul.
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Contains a major spoiler — show
There are several moments in this movie where it is hinted that the child was not Bane. Bane tells Batman he never saw light, until he was already a man. Furthermore, the child who escapes from the pit is not scarred, despite the fact we know Bane was mistreated within the prison.
Career & Awards (13)
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The film was on the shortlist for the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, but was not nominated. This is the fourth Batman film nominated for no Academy Awards, after Batman: The Movie (1966), Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993), and Batman & Robin (1997). This is also Sir Christopher Nolan's first film since Insomnia (2002) nominated for no Academy Awards.
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Life & Family (1)
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