The Dark Knight Rises

[LL!]

Not a fan of it either, just putting it out there.

[Frederick Jameson]

Possible spoiler for a new character to appear

THIS brief newslet posted at the website for Michigan television station WILX revealed a potentially interesting tidbit about the filming of, and a character in, THE DARK KNIGHT RISES.

According to Eaton County and Grand Ledge officials who didn't want to be identified due to confidentiality agreements, production crews from "The Dark Knight Rises" scouted locations in Grand Ledge's Fitzgerald Park last week.

They looked at the Ledges as well as a water treatment plant located inside the park. Sources say the area is being considered as a hideout for Batman sidekick Robin.

Interesting (if true).

So here's the question (again, presuming these details are accurate): does "Robin" actually refer to Batman's sidekick Robin? Or, might someone be circuitously referring to Hugo Strange, who a bevy of recent rumors (like THIS ONE) have suggested might be played by Robin Williams? Yes, I know the piece indicates "sidekick" - but I wonder...

If WILX's source is referring to the sidekick Robin? As long is he's played by Justin Bieber, I'm all for it. For whatever it's worth, the WILX report does dovetail somewhat with recent indications that TDKR is scouting locations in Michigan (like THIS write-up at OnLocationVacations).

I'd also imagine that this kind of leak (if there's any validity to it), while fun for folks like us, could potentially dampen Team Nolan's interest in shooting in the area. Or, perhaps their interest was already dampened, hence the supposed leak?

Thanks to Dynamicb for pointing us towards this. Again,this is all rather...undefined...so consume with a grain of salt.

Credit>http://www.aintitcool.com/

[Josh]

NOLAN FRIENDS ASSEMBLE!

http://www.cnn.com/2011/SHOWBIZ/Movies/02/14/marion.cotillard.batman.ppl/index.html?hpt=Sbin

Yeah, so the dude definitely has an ensemble he's comfortable with.

[TGC]

Tom Hardy recently sat down on British talk show "Chatty Man" and talked about his work for Christopher Nolan and the preparation for his upcoming role as bad guy 'Bane' in the latest and last Nolan Batman film "Dark Knight Rises." Bane, the supervillain character, is traditionally portrayed as being the size of a competitive bodybuilder, and Hardy said he will be putting on close to 30 pounds to play the character.

The actor is

Got this via HitFix.com

[Walker]

Tom Hardy has shown he can beef up really well. Look at Bronson, the man was huge.

[TGC]

Tom Hardy has shown he can beef up really well. Look at Bronson, the man was huge.

They talk about that in the interview as well.

[LL!]

Look at Bronson, the man was huge.

Not where it counts! OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!

[NM!]

Longshot here, but a tweaked version of Knightfall can be in order with Jean Paul Vally/Azrael.

The only fun part of Knightfall was the Batfamily having to deal with their entire Rogues Gallery all at once. With the Nolan films, seeing as Ra's al Ghul and Two-Face were killed off and reprising Joker is obviously difficult, that leaves, what. Scarecrow again? Mr. Zsasz? I'll pass.

Scarecrow is wonderful!

[Nick Adams]

Yannow something that I just realized? The Dark Night didn't resolve the story with Zsasz that was sort of a side note in Batman Begins. He got out of Arkham, was exposed to the fear gas... now what? I'd love to see the third film have the Caped Crusader stop Zsasz and string him up for the cops without getting caught.

[lanky316]

I doubt we'll see more Zsasz, it looked like a nice minor homage to fans of the comic books and no more. I doubt most people watching even noticed.

[LL!]

CONFIRMED: Joseph Gordon-Levitt is Alberto Falcone

On Friday, Variety reported that Inception co-star Joseph Gordon-Levitt had closed a deal to re-team with director Christopher Nolan for The Dark Knight Rises. The trade has since updated their article with who he will play in the anticipated film:

Speculation has run rampant regarding the role, with blogs pegging the part as The Riddler or Deadshot, but insiders tell Variety that Gordon-Levitt will be playing Alberto Falcone, the son of Mafia chieftain Carmine Falcone, the character Tom Wilkinson played in "Batman Begins."

Filming for the movie is set to kick-off soon. Warner Bros. Pictures is planning a July 20, 2012 release.

Read more: Gordon-Levitt's The Dark Knight Rises Role Revealed - ComingSoon.net http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=75406#ixzz1H7dhEt37

[TGC]

CONFIRMED: Joseph Gordon-Levitt is Alberto Falcone

On Friday, Variety reported that Inception co-star Joseph Gordon-Levitt had closed a deal to re-team with director Christopher Nolan for The Dark Knight Rises. The trade has since updated their article with who he will play in the anticipated film:

Speculation has run rampant regarding the role, with blogs pegging the part as The Riddler or Deadshot, but insiders tell Variety that Gordon-Levitt will be playing Alberto Falcone, the son of Mafia chieftain Carmine Falcone, the character Tom Wilkinson played in "Batman Begins."

Filming for the movie is set to kick-off soon. Warner Bros. Pictures is planning a July 20, 2012 release.

Read more: Gordon-Levitt's The Dark Knight Rises Role Revealed - ComingSoon.net http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=75406#ixzz1H7dhEt37

Alberto is also The Holiday Killer.

[TGC]

And now this:

Variety had said that JGL would be playing Alberto Falcone. Entertainment Weekly now say that they’ve spoken to “a source close to the situation” who tells them that Variety were wrong, and he won’t have that role at all. They don’t offer any info on who he will be playing, mind.

[Jimmy]

Don't know if this belongs here or deserves a thread;

Christopher Nolan has publicly stated that The Dark Knight Rises will be his final Batman film, and Warner Bros. is already looking ahead to the future of the franchise. As we reported last night, the studio is currently planning a Justice League movie for 2013 and Warner Bros. president Jeff Robinov tells Hero Complex that scripts are being written for Flash and Wonder Woman (the Wonder Woman project would exist separately from the upcoming NBC show). But most intriguing is what the studio plans to do with its marquee superhero, Batman:

“We have the third Batman, but then we’ll have to reinvent Batman…” says Robinov. “Chris Nolan and [producing partner and wife] Emma Thomas will be producing it, so it will be a conversation with them about what the next phase is.”

Hit the jump for my thoughts on the future of the Batman franchise.

Since Nolan said TDKR would be his last Batman film, I already assumed that Warner Bros. would reboot the franchise. However, I hope that they don’t devote yet another film to Batman’s origin story. We all know how Bruce Wayne became Batman.

I’m a little worried about keeping Nolan and Thomas on as producers. I’m hoping that they’ll be on board simply to give the reboot some cred and leave the creative decisions to a new director and his or her team. Nolan has recast the Batman world in a “realistic” setting and that’s a perfectly valid take that’s had both positive and negative repercussions. But I think a trilogy of Batman films done in that style is enough and it’s time to see what a new director can bring to the table.

Another question worth asking is if Warner Bros. plans to tie Justice League to their new Batman. Will the actor who plays Batman in JL also play Batman in the new franchise? Or will Justice League exist in its own universe?

[Gabriel]

Reboot? Really? The third one isn't out yet and they're already talking reboot?

What's wrong with just continuing the story from where Nolan leaves off with The Dark Knight Rises? Especially if he'll be around to consult with. It doesn't make any sense, unless DC wants their superhero movies to all follow a similar, more cartoony style so that they can work in The Justice League movie.

[tristy]

The world is finally ready for a Batman Beyond film adaption.

[HeartlineTwist]

Reboot? Really? The third one isn't out yet and they're already talking reboot?

What's wrong with just continuing the story from where Nolan leaves off with The Dark Knight Rises? Especially if he'll be around to consult with. It doesn't make any sense, unless DC wants their superhero movies to all follow a similar, more cartoony style so that they can work in The Justice League movie.

To be honest, I'd rather not see other directors try to shoehorn in their version of Batman to the world that Nolan has created, even if he's sticking around as a consultant. Especially depending on how Nolan chooses to end this. I have a feeling that Nolan is going to handle this one in a way to give the his envisioning of Batman some resolution, and I don't want the studio trying to rein Nolan in so their next movie makes narrative sense.

[phatman]

Zach Snyder came out and said that this "Justice League" movie that they are writing and bringing out will NOT have his version of Superman or Nolan's Batman in it...

I'd rather they not reboot it and just continue the story with Nolan as producer... I'm sick of constant rebooting of movie franchises these days...

[apsham]

I can't think of one reason why it harms anything.

[EWB's Best Poster.]

in all honesty, a reboot of batman for the case of making a justice league is justified. Trying to put nolans batman into a justice league? now THAT is shoehorning.

But now I fear it will go back to hokey clooney batman. Id rather just not deal with it at all if thats the case.