海角大神

While we await 听trailer (which will likely be coming soon 鈥� stay tuned), we鈥檝e had little besides a few and a whole lot of to report. Today, we have a little of both to share.

A new rumor from an unconfirmed source hints at what the Batcave will look like in听the reconstructed . On the more official side of things, actor Gary Oldman discussed his role as Jim Gordon in Dark Knight Rises, and made a few statements that (in my opinion) point to small traces of Frank Miller鈥檚听鈥欌�� storyline being in TDKR鈥荣听顿狈础.

Cosmic Book News is where this Batcave rumor started 鈥� again, the info comes from an unconfirmed source and really doesn鈥檛 tell us anything too surprising. But still, here are the quotes from CBN:

• The overall design of the cave is almost identical of the cave of Batman Begins, with it being a basic cave without cavernous drops.
• The waterfall is still there.
• There have been upgrades with better lighting than the basic generator powered ones put up in Batman Begins.
• There is a whole new batcomputer similar to the set up in听The听Dark听Knight.
• There is a weapons area where all of Batman鈥檚 equipment used in both films, plus new gadgets, can be seen.
• There is also a cabinet containing both Batsuits.
• The cave isn鈥檛 featured much in the film, it is has about as much screen time as the previous movies.

Like we said: even if this total RUMOR听is confirmed in full, it really doesn鈥檛 reveal too much that can鈥檛 be figured out with a few quick logical deductions. Such as:

• We鈥檝e known Bruce Wayne was rebuilding Wayne Manor after it burned down in Batman Begins.
• Given the time that has passed between The Dark Knight听补苍诲 The Dark Knight Rises, Wayne Manor would鈥檝e been rebuilt in full.
• Bruce Wayne used the cave the first time, so naturally, upon rebuilding he would upgrade and improve his lair 鈥� with things like a computer, weapons, suits, cars 鈥� you know, the usual Batman stuff.

Not that hard to figure out.

To be honest, at this point, it would be a bigger surprise if Dark Knight Rises DOESN鈥橳 have a cool Batcave lair鈥�

Gary Oldman will soon sizzle onscreen as a stalwart master of espionage in , but while making the rounds to promote that spy thriller, he鈥檚 of course been poked and prodded for any little tidbit of information about The Dark Knight Rises. In speaking with , Oldman dropped a quote that is worth examining:

On the subject of where we find Gordon in The Dark Knight Rises:

We find him 鈥� obviously I can鈥檛 give too much away because I鈥檓 sworn to secrecy 鈥� but when we meet him, things are calmer in Gotham. It鈥檚 reminiscent of the Gordon that we met in the first one. There鈥檚 a world-weariness to him, and even though things on the surface are now calmer, he鈥檚 cleaned up Gotham with the Harvey Dent Act, it鈥檚 seething underneath.

Now, there鈥檚 a lot of speculative ground that can be bridged, based on that quote:

1. The idea that at the start of TDKR,听Gotham is a more tranquil town, where crime is under control.
2. 鈥淭he Harvey Dent Act,鈥� which suggests some kind of law spun out of the events of The Dark Knight, and also explains some of the from the film that recently hit the Web.
3. The idea of Gotham 鈥渟eething underneath鈥� the superficial mandates of 鈥楾he Harvey Dent Act鈥�, which would explain the powder keg of mass chaos that Bane (Tom Hardy) unleashes on the city.
4. The combination of Oldman鈥檚 quote above and Gordon鈥檚 monologue in , which suggests that he and Batman were 鈥榠n it together鈥� to clean up Gotham, until Batman 鈥渨ent away,鈥� leaving room for Bane to rise.

This kind of scenario Oldman paints 鈥� taken in conjunction with what we鈥檝e seen in trailers, or heard directly from Nolan and Co. 鈥� begins to paint a narrative picture that contains faint traces of Frank Miller鈥檚 classic Batman tale, 鈥楾he Dark Knight Returns鈥� 鈥� in addition to the听鈥橩nightfall鈥� and/or 鈥楲egacy鈥� storylines that have been speculated as having influenced the story of TDKR.

[WARNING 'DARK KNIGHT RISES' PLOT DETAILS DISCUSSED BELOW]

We鈥檝e been wondering why Chris Nolan chose to set Dark Knight Rises听 of The Dark Knight, and Oldman鈥檚 quote pretty much kills any speculation (and the alleged ) that Bane breaks Batman鈥檚 back immediately after TDK, and Bruce Wayne therefore spends eight years recovering. Hard to believe that a calmer, safer, Gotham would be the result of such a traumatic event.

No, it seems more likely that TDKR borrows some of the world Miller envisioned in听The听Dark Knight Returns, wherein laws against costumed vigilantism (like a 鈥楬arvy Dent Act鈥�, perhaps?) forced Batman into retirement, but had the unexpected side-effect of discouraging costumed villains like The Joker, who went catatonic with no Batman to fuel him (good way to avoid the Heath Ledger issue). When a new and more savage crop of criminals (called The Mutants) start terrorizing Gotham, an aging Bruce Wayne is called back to duty and once again wages war as Batman to reclaim his city.

Just put in a younger Bruce Wayne (no gray hair), swap Bane in for 鈥楾he Mutant Gang鈥� in Miller鈥檚 tale, and it鈥檚 not hard to see how Dark Knight Rises听(from its title, to its depiction of Bane, to its thematic arc) could bear a strong resemblance to 鈥楧ark Knight Returns鈥�听鈥� mixed with story points borrowed from 鈥楰nightfall鈥� and/or 鈥楲egacy鈥�.

They kind of look alike, no?

But one then has to wonder: could the speculation that Batman dies at the end of Nolan鈥檚 trilogy 听be valid? After all, Batman faking his death was used in the conclusion of 鈥楾he Dark Knight Returns鈥� story 鈥� so whether real (and symbolic) or fake (and reboot-friendly), might we see Batman bite the big one in TDKR?

Nothing better than some fun speculation鈥� Discuss your Dark Knight Rises听theories in our comment section for now, and we鈥檒l all find out for sure what the film is about when it hits theaters on July 20, 2012.

Kofi Outlaw blogs at Screen Rant.