In Nolan We Trust. The Batwing and Catwoman unleashed on the LA set of The Dark Knight Rises

Chris Nolan does like to spoil his fans rotten. His family album of treasured memories from the set of next year’s The Dark Knight Rises is bulging by the day, like Scarlett Johansson’s infamous self-Kodak shots. The pace of the shoot certainly looks to be escalating with filming in locations from Pittsburgh, Los Angeles, India, London and even Nottingham – doubling for Wayne Manor. The budget is at an estimated $250million, a slight increase of an around $60million to the 2008 Bat sequel, The Dark Knight. Looks as if Nolan is certainly aiming for some aggressive expansion this time around for his third and final Caped Crusader epic.

The Inception maestro and his army of crew have been tugging and pulling the strings of late and have released a number of shots on the LA set of TDKR. The Bat’s ride of choice looks to have had an upgrade since his last outing against the villainous Joker. The Batwing has been introduced to fans delight. It appears Batman is taking no chances this time around with his new mode of transport to come face to face with Tom Hardy’s muscular menace, Bane. I can already picture cinema screens erupting with an unlimited amount of excitement when we first get our proper glimpse of the Bat in his new toy.

Also along for the ride, Anne Hathaway’s Selina Kyle aka Catwoman (is she up against or with Batman – either way, In Nolan We Trust!) gets to grips with the Batpod in fresh images. In terms of the look of Catwoman, it was fair to say there were grumblings with her appearance. But, without the whip, the whiskers and the overall camp look, Nolan appears to have nailed the look, and Hathaway, surprisingly fits the tall, sexy, slender look of the role previously played by Michelle Pfeiffer in Tim Burton’s Batman Returns. I did initially could not help be sceptical initially when the whole Catwoman card was to be introduced, and thought this could potentially put a stinker on Chris Nolan’s final Batman piece but with these new set shots gracing our screens, I dare you, grumble now! Not only that further shots of the Batman himself, Christian Bale in full Bat suit with Gary Oldman’s Jim Gordon in full moustache not being shy and getting in the thick of it have been revealed.

Even more revealing shots from the set were unveiled courtesy of Total Film earlier in the week and could it be the plan for the demise of Gotham? Could Bane be attempting to finish the job that Liam Neeson’s Ra’s Al Ghul ultimately failed to see through? The device appears to have a similar look to the microwave emitter used in Batman Begins. Either that or Hotpoint are going expansive with their latest model of washing machines. With Nolan and crew on hand observing and analysing the ambiguous piece of kit, the release date is still unfortunately more than a stone’s throw away. There has been a constant debate as to whether these shots that have been all over the net, are considered as spoilers but how else are Nolan and his team going to be going forward and market the damn film. Viral Marketing has been a common theme in the Brit director’s back catalogue of films and it has worked quite beautifully and The Dark Knight Rises comes across as no different in that respect.

The Dark Knight Rises, as every person on the planet knows or should know is released on the 20^th July 2012 and boasts an ensemble cast of pure quality that includes Christian Bale, Tom Hardy, Anne Hathaway, Gary Oldman, Michael Cane, Morgan Freeman, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Marian Cotillard.

Oh and below are a flutter of more exclusive shots as part of Chris Nolan's treasured memories collections which will no doubt be considered nostalgic material in years to come *sob sob*

Written By Michael Cunneen