The Dark Knight Rises Updates

So most of you know that I am a HUGE Batman fan and a huge Christopher Nolan fan at that. So naturally I am more than pumped to see The Dark Knight Rises, Mr. Nolan's third and final installment in his Batman franchise. I received word through my network of cinematic spies (also called IMDB) that The Dark Knight Rises just finished filming in New York. Apparently, there was some talk of including footage of the "Occupy Wall Street" protests, since there might be some rioting scenes in the movie. Ultimately, the idea was scrapped and they went with the footage they had already planned to make.

So, on to what we know

• Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman and Gary Oldman are all returning to their roles, as well as anybody that was in the previous two films, didn't die and I forgot to mention them (even Scarecrow might show up in this one, again).
• Tom Hardy is supposed to play the film's main villain, Bane. You might remember him as the retarded strongman from Batman and Robin. Well add that to the mile long list of what that movie got WRONG! Bane in the Animated Series wasn't just some mentally handicapped bouncer, he was a strategist and a one man army. He was the one who could accomplish what even the Joker couldn't do: Break the Bat. That alone could make for a very interesting story line. There are rumors that he may even do just that in this movie... Yikes
• Joseph Gordon Levitt has also joined the cast. His role is that of John Blake, the new guy in Commissioner Gordon's unit. NOT ROBIN. I don't know why I keep having to say that. People keep insisting that Robin is going to appear in this movie. Actually, I'm going to save this for the next point
• ROBIN WILL NOT BE IN THIS MOVIE. There are a few reasons why. Number one. He's useless. Number two. He's a nuisance. Number three. Both Christopher Nolan and Christian Bale agreed that they would not return to the franchise if they were forced to include Robin. Why did they make this decision? I refer you to reasons one and two. The other reason the Christopher Nolan decided not to include him is that his movies cover Batman's early years (one of them is after all called Batman BEGINS), so if Robin was in it, he would be a little kid. Maybe nine or ten. Also the idea of a sidekick would sort of compromise the dark tone that he was going for when making these movies.
• Anne Hathaway is also in it as the femme fatale Catwoman, who has always been a switch from villain to love-interest. That should make for a very interesting story line. Plus, Anne Hathaway in skin-tight leather? Can life get any better? I submit that it can NOT! (quote courtesy of Brian Regan)
• Marion Cotillard (Inception) will also appear as a love-interest for Bruce Wayne. There has been speculation that she may actually tur out to be... just kidding, I'm not going to tell you. I know who her character might be, but I'm not going to spoil it for you. Because if I'm right, then that would make for a kickass twist.
• There are a few other minor characters that have been added. The only other notable one is Matthew Modine (who played Private Joker in Full Metal Jacket), who is supposed to play a character called Nixon, who will be a minor villain.

These are all the facts that we know. Tomorrow, we'll talk about what is possible, but shrouded in mystery.
Yours Truly,
MP