15 Things You Probably Didn't Know About The Dark Knight Rises

No pressure Zack Snyder, but you're following in the footsteps of greatness with Batman v Superman. Christopher Nolan's immaculate Dark Knight trilogy was capped off with the coldest and most brutal of the movies: The Dark Knight Rises, and you're going to have to be on your A-game when you follow it up and bring Batman back to the big screen. Here we pay homage to the mesmerising epic that was the third instalment with 15 things you (probably) didn't know about it.

(Images: Rex / YouTube)

1.

This final fight scene marks the only occasion in either this series or the Burton/Schumacher films in which Batman is seen during the daytime. Batman does appear in the daytime, very much so, in the 1966 Adam West film, of course.

2.

The moment when Selina Kyle disappears from a rooftop and Batman remarks "So that's what that feels like" is a nod to an identical moment in DC graphic novel "Kingdom Come" except it's Superman that disappears when Wayne's back is turned. 

(Image: Reddit)

3.

Bane's quote "that's a lovely, lovely voice" (50 seconds into this clip), moments before he wreaks havoc on Gotham, was improvised by Tom Hardy. Also, everyone in this scene is dressed for winter, but it was actually shot during a heatwave. 

4.

Speaking of Tom Hardy's improvisation, it also wasn't in the script for him to sinisterly place his hand on Daggett's shoulder moments before killing him, in this scene. Conclusion? Tom Hardy's one creepy dude. 

Also, Bale ad-libbed the "No you're not" line, when Selina said she's sorry he lost his fortune.

5.

Christian Bale cleared up any ambiguity about the ending of the movie. When Alfred sees Bruce and Selina at a cafe in Italy, so the theory goes, Alfred's only imagining it. It's a nod to the dream he described earlier in the movie, say some fans. Not a bit of it, said Bale: “[Alfred] was content with me being alive and left because that was the life he always wanted for him." He told Entertainment Weekly: "I find it very interesting and with most films, I tend to say ‘It’s what the audience thinks it is.’ My personal opinion? No, it was not a dream. That was for real and he was just delighted that finally he had freed himself from the privilege, but ultimately the burden, of being Bruce Wayne.”

6.

Chloë Grace Moretz and Jennifer Lawrence auditioned for the role of Jen, Selina Kyle's sidekick, while Natalie Portman (pictured) was considered for the role of Selina. Naomi Watts and Rachel Weisz were considered to play Miranda Tate before Marion Cotillard landed the part. 

7.

The Bat suit is comprised of 110 separate pieces and the production team created 50 capes in different lengths, shapes and sizes for various shots. The capes used for fighting scenes weren't used for walking scenes, for example. 

8.

Anne Hathaway’s stunt double broke one of the IMAX cameras when she crashed the Batpod into it. The production team have previous in this area, too. A camera was smashed when filming the Joker's underground truck chase in The Dark Knight. You can see the piece of kit going to a tech graveyard in this vid.
 

9.

Producer Emma Thomas said that they chose to shoot the film in Pittsburgh because "they literally shot every inch" in Chicago, where the previous two movies were filmed. Wollaton Hall in Nottinghamshire (pictured) stood in for Wayne Manor while the Batcave set, complete with its working waterfalls, was filmed at Sony Studios in Culver City, California, where there’s a tank capable of holding almost three-quarters of a million gallons of water.
 

10.

Suffice to say The Bat doesn't actually fly. In order to make it appear that it does it was either supported by wires, suspended from cranes and helicopters, or mounted on a purpose-built vehicle with hydraulic controls. Designs from military aircraft, including the Harrier Jump Jet, Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey and the Boeing AH-64 Apache were used to create it. This behind-the-scenes vid here is worth a watch. 

11.

Bane's voice was originally even more distorted than we heard. His lines had to be re-recorded for the final cut because it was almost impossible to understand what he was saying. You can hear the before and after re-record versions here. 

12.

Costume designer, Lindy Hemming, took two years to design Bane's coat; it was inspired by a Swedish army jacket and a French Revolution frock coat, to make Bane look equally dictatorial and revolutionary, "like an amalgam of all sorts of bits and pieces he cobbled together as he passed through some very remote places."

13.

Around 10,000 extras were used to shoot the Gotham Rogues scene in Heinz Field in Pittsburgh. Some of the Pittsburgh Steelers played football players like Hines Ward (pictured, top left) who has also appeared in The Walking Dead (bottom).

14.

Thomas Lennon, who plays Bruce Wayne's doctor, played a very similar role as the doctor who tests Sammy Jankis in Christopher Nolan's earlier movie, Memento. Lennon told The Huffington Post: "I like to think I'm exactly the same doctor and it's all happening inside Guy Pearce's mind. Whether or not that's true is probably for Nolan to say. I'd like to think that's happening."

15.

Tom Hardy, standing at 5'10", had to wear 3 inch lifts so he could stand as tall as Christian Bale, Morgan Freeman, and Michael Caine, who all tower well over 6 ft.