Chris Nolan, Tom Hardy & Anne Hathaway drop science on The Dark Knight Rises!

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

As we’re getting closer to THE DARK KNIGHT RISES summer theatrical debut, it seems that the cast and crew behind the highly anticipated follow-up to THE DARK KNIGHT are finally getting more talkative. Entertainment Weekly caught up with director Christopher Nolan, as well as actors Tom Hardy and Anne Hathaway to hear what they have to say about the characters to be inroduced in the final part of the trilogy.

On the character of Bane, Nolan had this to say:

 “He represents formidable physical strength, combined with absolute evil of intention”,

while Hardy was a tad more specific, talking about the mask obscuring most of the villain’s face:

“It’s a risk, because we could be laughed at — or it could be very fresh and exciting”. Still, the British actor was quick to add: “The audience mustn’t be too concerned about the mumbly voice. As the film progresses, I think you’ll be able to tune to its setting”.

As for Catwoman, Nolan gave an understandably vague rundown of his version of the classic character:

“She has a very strong way of protecting herself and those she cares about, which implies an underlying darkness”.

Anne Hathaway, who portrays the feline femme fatale, got more in-depth on the actual process she had to endure in order to prepare for the role:

“I had to physically transform. Chris sat me down at the beginning and said, ‘Joseph Gordon-Levitt did all of his own fighting in Inception. That one zero-gravity fight? He trained for two months.’ I basically left his office and went to the gym and just came out about five minutes ago”.

No giant revelations there, although it’s good to hear Christopher Nolan remains demanding of his actors in terms of purely physical performance – here’s hoping for some intense action scenes.

THE DARK KNIGHT RISES swoops into theaters and IMAX on July 20th.