50 Fun Facts About The Dark Knight Rises

How many years after The Dark Knight is the film set?

Bruce Wayne has become a recluse and organized crime has been wiped out under the Dent Act.

Who plays Bane?

He gained 30 pounds for the role and based the voice partly on bare-knuckle boxer Bartley Gorman.

Who plays Selina Kyle?

Jessica Biel and Kate Mara were considered; she auditioned without knowing which role it was for.

Which classic actress did Hathaway study as inspiration for Selina Kyle?

Lamarr was also the original inspiration for the comic-book character.

Who plays Miranda Tate, later revealed as Talia al Ghul?

She dubbed her own voice in both the European and Canadian French versions.

What is revealed to be John Blake's legal first name?

A homage to the comic sidekick; the film ends with him being led to the Batcave.

Who plays John Blake?

Gordon promotes him to detective after seeing something of himself in the young officer.

Who plays John Daggett, the rival billionaire who hires Bane?

His assistant Philip Stryver is named after a character in A Tale of Two Cities.

Which Dickens novel did the director cite as inspiration for his draft of the script?

Gordon's eulogy for Bruce Wayne is taken directly from the novel.

Bane's habit of finger-knitting paracord is a nod to which Dickens character?

Defarge knits the names of those marked for the guillotine in A Tale of Two Cities.

Which 1993 comic storyline, Bane's debut, inspired the film?

The Dark Knight Returns and 'No Man's Land' were the other two main influences.

Which 1999 storyline about a Gotham cut off from the world influenced the film?

In it, Gotham is overrun by gangs, much like Bane's occupied city.

Which villain did studio executives push for instead of Bane?

They encouraged casting Leonardo DiCaprio; Robin Williams also expressed interest.

Roughly how long was Jonathan Nolan's original draft of the screenplay?

David S. Goyer left during pre-production to work on Man of Steel.

Which future Catwoman was rejected at audition for being 'too urban'?

She played Selina Kyle a decade later in The Batman (2022).

Where did principal photography begin in May 2011?

The Mehrangarh Fort stood in for the exteriors above Bane's underground prison.

Under what ruse title did the production operate in Pittsburgh?

'Rory's First Kiss' had been the cover title for The Dark Knight.

Which NFL team's players appear as the Gotham Rogues?

Former coach Bill Cowher plays the Rogues' head coach; more than 11,000 extras filled Heinz Field.

Which Pittsburgh mayor appears as the kicker for the Rogues' opponents?

He had been a kicker in college; the opponents were the Rapid City Monuments.

Which New York building stands in for Wayne Enterprises headquarters?

It replaced Chicago's Richard J. Daley Center, used in the earlier films.

The climactic waterfall scene was filmed at Sgwd Henrhyd falls in which country?

The falls sit on the edge of the Brecon Beacons National Park.

Roughly how much IMAX footage does the film contain?

The Dark Knight had 28 minutes; dialogue scenes still needed quieter 35mm and 70mm cameras.

Why could IMAX cameras not be used for dialogue scenes?

Dialogue shot on IMAX would have had to be dubbed, so 35mm and 70mm cameras were used instead.

What did the director choose NOT to do with the film, unlike many 2012 blockbusters?

He also skipped a digital intermediate to keep the filmed image as pure as possible.

What is the flying vehicle introduced in the film called?

Its design drew on the Harrier jump jet, the V-22 Osprey and the AH-64 Apache.

What does Bane's mask supply him with, according to costume designer Lindy Hemming?

It keeps the pain from an old injury 'just below the threshold so he can function'.

Bane's two-years-in-the-making outerwear drew on a Swedish army jacket and what else?

Hemming struggled to find a Los Angeles tailor who could work with shearling.

How many separate pieces made up the Batsuit?

The suit was unchanged from The Dark Knight; the cowl was cast from Christian Bale's head.

What idea did the production designers use for the new Batcave set?

Nathan Crowley and Kevin Kavanaugh had the Batsuit and a supercomputer emerge from the water.

How deep is the vertical shaft of the underground prison set built at Cardington?

The Pit was built as a labyrinth of stone cells; its desert exteriors were shot in India.

Who composed the score?

James Newton Howard declined to return, saying he would feel like a 'third wheel' after Inception.

What phrase is chanted throughout the score?

The composer crowdsourced recordings online because he wanted hundreds of thousands of voices.

The trilogy's main Batman theme consists of how many repeated notes?

They represent Batman's pain and guilt; 'Molossus' is the action theme.

Which Twitter hashtag did fans decode from the viral site's encrypted chant?

Each tweet removed a pixel from the page until the first image of Bane appeared.

The six-minute IMAX prologue was attached to prints of which film?

The Dark Knight's opening had likewise run before I Am Legend, seven months ahead of release.

Which fictional physicist featured in fake 'CIA documents' sent to Empire and Wired?

Played by Alon Aboutboul, he is the kidnapped Russian who converts the reactor into a bomb.

Which NASCAR driver's Mountain Dew car carried the film's paint scheme in 2012?

The number 88 Chevrolet won the Quicken Loans 400 at Michigan that June.

Which Formula One team ran the film's logos at the 2012 British Grand Prix?

Kimi Räikkönen and Romain Grosjean finished fifth and sixth.

Who wrote the film's novelization, published by Titan Books?

Dennis O'Neil had novelized Batman Begins and The Dark Knight.

Which company made the tie-in mobile game released on the film's opening day?

Its combat was inspired by the Arkham games; Metacritic averaged it at 64.

Where did the film premiere on July 16, 2012?

The European premiere followed two days later in Leicester Square, London.

What was the film's approximate worldwide gross?

It was the seventh-highest-grossing film of all time at release and the biggest Batman film to date.

Which film held the record opening weekend that the $160.9 million debut fell short of?

It was the third-highest opening ever at the time, but a record for a 2D film.

Which market was the film's largest outside North America?

Its $90.3 million there made it the highest-grossing superhero film in the region.

What grade did CinemaScore audiences give the film?

Rotten Tomatoes scored it 87% and Metacritic 78.

In which BAFTA category was the film nominated?

It also made the American Film Institute's top ten films of 2012.

Which character's plane dialogue with Bane spawned the 'Baneposting' meme?

Aidan Gillen's character is only ever called 'CIA' in the film; his name comes from the novelization.

In which Italian city does Alfred spot Bruce and Selina at the end of the film?

Alfred is drinking a Fernet Branca when they exchange a smile.

What does Wayne Manor become after Bruce is presumed dead?

Bruce's estate is left to Alfred, and Blake is led to the Batcave.

Why did Christian Bale turn down a fourth Batman film?

Warner Bros. had offered both Bale and the director a fourth instalment.