Eight years after the events of The Dark Knight (2008) find Gotham at a time of peace. This is due to Batman taking the fall for Harvey Dent's murder. However, a new evil force named Bane has arrived in Gotham and aims to take over the city and expose the truth behind who Harvey Dent really was. Now that Wayne Manor has been completely rebuilt, Bruce Wayne has become almost reclusive, rarely leaving the estate. And with Bane taking over the city by force, it forces Batman to come out of retirement. But his allies are few and far between. An elusive jewel thief by the name of Selina Kyle could be the key to stopping Bane, but whose side is she on?
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Hathaway wasn't a lock for the role from the start. Both Jessica Biel and Kate Mara did screen tests for Selina Kyle before Hathaway ultimately won the part, which then also led to Nolan casting her in Interstellar down the line.
Since the football scene was filmed at the Steelers' home stadium, several actual Pittsburgh Steelers, including Ben Roethlisberger, Troy Polamalu, and Hines Ward, plus head coach Bill Cowher, appear as members of the fictional Gotham Rogues.
Comedy actor Thomas Lennon shows up as a doctor in Rises, and it's a nice little callback since he also played a doctor way back in Nolan's breakout film Memento. Blink and you might miss the connection between his two very different Nolan roles.
The pit prison itself was a built set, but the exterior shots around it were filmed at Mehrangarh Fort in Jodhpur, India, giving that isolated, ancient look to the place where Bane grew up and where Bruce ends up trapped.
Nolan wanted Cotillard for Miranda Tate after working with her on Inception, and he stuck with that even when she got pregnant during pre-production. She ended up starting her scenes for Rises only about a month after giving birth, while also shooting Rust and Bone in France around the same time.
There's a neat pattern running through all three films: the main villain hides in plain sight disguised as one of their own minions at some point, Ra's al Ghul in Batman Begins, the Joker in The Dark Knight, and Bane in Rises. Easy to miss unless you're watching for it.
