Other than the back-and-forth over whether Christopher Nolan had "fixed" the sound on the IMAX prologue that's been playing before "Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol" (Summary: he had! Except, oh, wait, he hadn't), 2012 has been quiet (so far) for what's widely expected to be the biggest film of the year, Batman three-quel "The Dark Knight Rises." But given the general flood of rumor, conjecture and minutiae around the eagerly-anticipated project, that couldn't last long, and the dam has broken in the last few days.
Firstly, Christian Bale is the cover star, in costume, of Entertainment Weekly's 2012 preview feature, and a couple of tidbits have arrived from the piece, which hits newsstands tomorrow. The first of which reveals that while the last installment saw Bruce Wayne carrying out his operations from a high-rise apartment, and a secret parking garage beneath it (after Liam Neeson burnt his family home down at the end of "Batman Begins") the eight-year story gap between "The Dark Knight" and "The Dark Knight Rises" means that the Caped Crusader will return to Wayne Manor, and perhaps more happily for franchise fans, the Batcave, in the new film.
As for his principle adversary, Tom Hardy's Bane, Nolan tells EW that despite the controversy over the James-Mason-talking-into-a-pillow quality of the dialogue in the prologue, he's confident that it'll all make sense in context. "I think when people see the film, things will come into focus. Bane is very complex and very interesting and when people see the finished film people will be very entertained by him," he explained.
But it may be a little while before we see any more from the film. Batman On Film reports that the next trailer for Nolan's film likely won't arrive until mid-May, possibly tied to one of Warner Bros' other big summer hopes, Tim Burton's "Dark Shadows." Some had speculated that the studio's March film "Wrath of the Titans" might host a new promo, but the studio have been following the tracks of their 'Dark Knight' publicity campaign closely, and given the final trailer for that film debuted in May alongside "Iron Man," a final bow in front of "Dark Shadows" seems to make sense. Don't look to the Super Bowl to get your Bat-fix either, as Warners won't be buying any ad space at all this year. If you didn't know already, "The Dark Knight Rises" hits theaters on July 20th. The full EW weekly cover is below, so you can argue about what kind of belt he's wearing, or whatever.