The Dark Knight Rises won't be released in theaters until Summer 2012 but we've been seeing quite a bit of new footage between the official release of the full trailer along with the prologue scene on select showings of Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol. If you're like us, you've probably watched the trailer a bunch of times already. There is a lot to take away from it.
Below you will see the ten new details revealed from both the trailer and the prologue. Because the trailer seems to jump around a bit and with the other information Christopher Nolan has revealed in interviews, we put together what we believe the chronology of the movie will be. Obviously there will be some possible spoilers but there's also the good chance that we're are completely off target.
Bane's Origin
From the prologue, we get a clear look at the man that will eventually break the Bat. We can hear his accent and it sounds like he does still have his Central/South America roots. He is part of a larger organization, most likely as the leader. The CIA is fully aware of the existence of Bane.
Bane's Parallel to 'The Dark Knight'
The prologue deals with Bane capturing and extracting a doctor from CIA custody. This is similar to the beginning of 2008's The Dark Knight where Batman has to extract Lau, a Chinese mafia accountant, in order to deliver him to the Gotham City Police Department. Lau had fled to Hong Kong.
A Different Football Team in Gotham
As readers of the comics know, the only football team in Gotham is the Gotham City Knights. From the trailer we can see the crowd in the stadium cheering for the Rogues. Using 'Knights' might've been too much considering it's in the title of this and the previous films.
Gordon Delivers Two Speeches for Harvey Dent
In The Dark Knight, the public was not aware that Harvey had turned into the evil Two-Face. In the prologue it appears he gives a brief speech. It's not entirely clear when each takes place, whether or not one takes place immediately after his death or on the anniversary of it. From the trailer, it can be seen that he is most likely giving the speech in the early Fall as there is mention that the Mayor is going to "dump him in the Spring" and we later see Batman and Bane fighting in the snow.
Batman is Seriously Injured
There's been speculation and rumors that Bane won't simply break the Bat but will actually break his back, as in the comics. Because we have that fuzzy "eight years later" time period Nolan has mentioned, we can't be completely sure when this injury takes place. There are several scenes in which Bruce is seen using a cane. It could have been possible that he was merely using the cane as a decoy in public to possibly explain his absence in Gotham but in the image above, it does look like he's the only one in the room.
Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle
At a masquerade ball, it looks like Selina and Bruce's first meeting will be reminiscent to the scene in Batman Returns. She calls him, Mr. Wayne, and this scene takes place after his injury as he does have the cane at this party.
Catwoman is on Bane's Side?
As Bruce and Selina dance, she gives a little speech.
You think this is going to last. There's a storm coming, Mr. Wayne. You and your friends better batten down the hatches. Because when it hits, you’re all going to wonder how you ever thought you could live so large and leave so little for the rest of us.
With later scenes of Bane and his men causing havoc and destruction, it feels like too much of a coincidence that she's not aligned with him or aware of his plans in some way.
Bruce is Trapped in a Prison
Could this possibly be Santa Prisca? From the teaser trailer, Bane could be seen climbing out of a deep tunnel (which is also seen here). Going back to the eight year time change, the question is, how much time did Bruce spend in this prison (which looks to be modeled after Chand Baori)?
There is another scene in which it looks like an immobilized and beaten Bruce Wayne is at the mercy of Bane in this prison.
Bane simple tells him the following"
When Gotham is ashes, you have my permission to die.
This could be after Bane breaks him and carts him away to this prison in order to put the next stage of his plan into motion.
There are Multiple Tumblers
Because of the camouflage and the fact that there is more than one, Wayne Enterprises must have licensed out their tech to the government. If Bruce was away for a long period of time, it's possible the board of directors could have made the decision in order to make a profit or even save the company.
The Batwing is a New Vehicle for Batman
Along with the multiple tumblers, it looks like Wayne Enterprises has been pretty busy. Because it's all in black, clearly it belongs to Batman and hasn't been licensed out.
What About the Timeline?
Here's where we speculate even further. We could simply sit back and just wait for the actual movie to come out but after watching the trailer over and over, there's no way you can't try to make sense of it all. And that's probably just the way Nolan wants it.
The prologue scene takes place first. This is where Bane is establishing himself and the beginning of his bigger plans. He needs Dr. Pavel and gaining him from the CIA's custody is just the beginning.
There is peace in Gotham City after the Joker and Two-Face's reign of terror. Once again we have that eight year time to consider. Is it eight years after The Dark Knight or does a period of eight years pass during this movie?
At the end of the teaser trailer we see Batman and Bane fighting in a warehouse or alley. This is the moment where Bane breaks him and takes him away.
Bruce is left to recover in the prison. Also in the teaser, we see Bruce is doing push-ups. Because Bane's plans aren't complete and he wants Batman to see him destroy Gotham, locking him away while he's broken is a way to keep him out of the way and also lets Bane move his plan forward.
At first it appeared that Alfred is in the prison with Bruce. Many have been saying it's another actor which would make more sense.
Once Bruce has recovered, he finds a way out of the prison and returns to Gotham, still needed the cane to walk.
The dance/masquerade portion is next. Not only does Bruce meet and talk to Selina, but also Marion Cotillard.
Despite what we've been told, we all believe that Cotillard is actually Talia al Ghul.
The party is attacked by Bane's men. Commissioner Gordon is here doing his best to save the day but most likely this is when he is injured, as seen in the teaser trailer.
After the attack at the party, Bruce (or Batman) visits Gordon in the hospital. This is where Gordon tells him they need Batman again.
Bane proceeds to break out some criminals. These could be his men or simply more criminal thugs he can use to burn down Gotham. They proceed to attack the football stadium to continue their attack.
Bruce overcomes whatever obstacles have been keeping him from dressing up and we have the return of Batman. He gets the Batwing and then fights Bane on the steps of the courthouse.
After that...well, let's stop right there.
Could this be how The Dark Knight Rises will play out? If you need to see the trailer one more time, check it out here.
