History Trivia / TheDarkKnightRises

** When initially casting Selina Kyle, the part was eventually narrowed down to Creator/AnneHathaway, Creator/JessicaBiel, and Creator/KateMara before Hathaway was ultimately chosen. Mara would later go on to portray [[ComicBook/FantasticFour Invisible Woman]] in Film/FantasticFour2015.

** Creator/LeonardoDiCaprio, Creator/RyanGosling, and Creator/MarkRuffalo were considered to play John Blake before Creator/JosephGordonLevitt was cast. Ironically, [=DiCaprio=] was previously offered the part of Comicbook/{{Robin}} in Film/BatmanForever [[spoiler: which is who Blake is eventually alluded to be.]]

* CastingGag:
** Creator/AnneHathaway had previously been set to play Felicia Hardy - the Black Cat - in Creator/SamRaimi's planned fourth ComicBook/SpiderMan movie. Here she plays another cat-themed AntiVillain for a rival comics company.
** Matthew Modine, who plays Foley, had played a character nicknamed "Joker" in Film/FullMetalJacket.
** [[Series/PrisonBreak Wade Williams]] is the Blackgate Prison warden.

* FakeNationality: Barsard, who judging by his accent ([[ShoutOut and name]]) is supposed to be English, is played by American Josh Stewart.

* ScullyBox: In the comics, Bane towers over Batman. But Creator/TomHardy is shorter than Creator/ChristianBale, so he had to wear high heeled boots and camera tricks were also used so that Bane would be equal on height with Batman during scenes where they are both on-camera.

** [[Series/PrisonBreak Wade Williams]] is the Blakegate Prison warden.

** During early production stages, the studio wished for ComicBook/TheRiddler to be the main antagonist with Creator/LeonardoDiCaprio, Creator/JohnnyDepp, and Creator/DavidTennant in mind for the role. However, Creator/ChristopherNolan was able to convince them to use ComicBook/{{Bane}} due to the character having a physical presence that the previous films villains lacked.

** During early production stages, the studio wished for ComicBook/TheRiddler to be the main antagonist with Creator/LeonardoDiCaprio, Creator/JohnnyDepp, or Creator/DavidTennant in mind for the role. However, Creator/ChristopherNolan was able to convince them to use ComicBook/{{Bane}} due to the character having a physical presence that the previous films villains lacked.

** Similarly, had Heath lived, Dave Goyer's (but not necessarily Nolan's) plans for the third movie would have involved the Joker going on trial while Two-Face (who would have turned out to be OnlyMostlyDead) went on a rampage across Gotham. There was also talk that Crane's role as the KangarooCourt judge would have gone to the Joker had Ledger still been alive.
** Part of the film involves the destruction of a football stadium by Bane. At earlier points it was considered this event would be at either a hockey or basketball game to go along with the demolition of Pittsburgh's now-vacant Civic Arena. Unfortunately the city of Pittsburgh had difficulties and a court case in deciding the fate of the arena that by the time demolition began, filming was finished.

** Back in 2008 after ''Film/TheDarkKnight'' was released, there were talks about Creator/JohnnyDepp playing the Riddler. Creator/DavidTennant also expressed interest in playing the Riddler.
** Creator/GemmaArterton, Creator/JessicaBiel, Creator/KeiraKnightley, Creator/BlakeLively, Creator/KateMara, Creator/NataliePortman, and Creator/CharlotteRiley all auditioned for Catwoman.
** Creator/LeonardoDiCaprio, Creator/RyanGosling, and Creator/MarkRuffalo were considered for John Blake.
** Creator/EvaGreen, Creator/NaomiWatts, Creator/RachelWeisz, and Creator/KateWinslet were considered for Miranda Tate.
** Creator/ChloeGraceMoretz and Creator/JenniferLawrence auditioned for the role of Jen, Selina Kyle's sidekick.
** Creator/ZoeKravitz claims she was turned down for a minor role because of her race. She was told they weren't "going urban". People have theorised that the role she had planned to audition for was Jen, which ultimately went to Creator/JunoTemple.

* ActorAllusion:
** Pittsburgh mayor Luke Ravenstahl's cameo as the football player who kicks off for Rapid City nods back to the fact that when he attended Washington & Jefferson College, he was starting place kicker on their football team.
** Hines Ward, from the Pittsbugh Steelers, is the player who runs back the opening kickoff and the only player to survive after Bane implodes the field. When he's looking back at the carnage after scoring the touchdown (if it can be considered one, since scoring would have stopped the moment the first explosions happened), his own name is on his Gotham team jersey.
** When the boy is singing the National Anthem, the camera pans down the sideline to show us the starting lineup, including Steelers players. In addition to Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and Hines Ward, you will see Big Ben Roethlisberger, Brett "The Diesel" Keisel, Mike Wallace, Maurkice Pouncey, and Rashard Mendenhall. You don't see their names on the jersey, but if you've watched Steelers games, they're easy to identify because they wear their real player numbers (as is Ward).
** The instructions Alfred gives to Selina Kyle about delivering dinner to Bruce, including being told to drop off the tray and lock the door behind her, have been said to be similar to something Creator/AnneHathaway's character in ''Literature/TheDevilWearsPrada'' does.
** Commissioner Gordon calls for all of the GCPD to go into the sewers to root out Bane's army. This isn't the first time that Creator/GaryOldman [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74BzSTQCl_c called for all the police in the city.]]
** Creator/TomHardy had previously forced Burn Gorman to his death in a TV adaptation of ''Literature/WutheringHeights'', where they played Heathcliffe and Hindley respectively.

* RetroactiveRecognition: This is the first time Ben Mendelsohn aggravates a masked supervillain with a breathing problem. [[RogueOne It won't be the last.]]

* FakeNationality: Bane's apparently Russian lieutenant, is played by American Josh Stewart.

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* The infamous memetic prologue was personally considered by Christopher Nolan to be the scene [[http://www.businessinsider.com/christopher-nolan-reveals-most-proud-of-the-dark-knight-rises-opening-scene-2015-4 he's most proud of making]] in his entire filmmaking career.

* TranslationCorrection: A variant. As having TwoFirstNames is an extremely rare phenomenon for [[RussianNamingConvention Russian names]], Dr. Leonid Pavel was given the more realistic surname "Pavlov" in the Russian dub (although, [[RealityIsUnrealistic as it turns out]], Russian people with the surname "Pavel" [[http://www.onomastikon.ru/proishogdenie-familii-pavel.htm actually exist]]). Due to the existence of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_Pavlov a certain Dr. Pavlov]] in Real Life, this might have made it sound like Hollywood resorted to the FamousNamedForeigner trope once again.

** Bane's voice [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZW5qyc2g6U was originally much more distorted]]. His lines had to be re-recorded for the final cut because [[TheUnintelligible it was nigh-impossible to understand what he was saying.]]

** Creator/TomHardy gained thirty pounds of muscle to play Bane. Anne Hathaway also worked out five days a week to be able to fit into her SpyCatsuit.

* RecycledScript: Around the time this movie came out, Christopher Nolan expressed his interest to direct a ''Film/JamesBond'' film one day. It may be a coincidence, but the ''Film/JamesBond'' movie ''Film/TheWorldIsNotEnough'' just so happens to have a lot of similarities to this story. Consider- in both, the villain is a [[TheDreaded dreaded]] notorious international terrorist who FeelsNoPain, is supposedly / formerly / posing as an AnarchyIsChaos-type anarchist but is actually [[spoiler: in league with a CorruptCorporateExecutive (or in Bane's case, two of them)]], plots to suicidally destroy a major city with a nuclear explosion (using an atypical nuclear weapon), murders the nuclear physicist who helps / was supposed to help him carry out his EvilPlan, [[spoiler: is secretly allied to one of the two Bond / Bat girls, who has spent the movie posing as a benevolent, altruistic entrepeneur who at one point sleeps with the hero, but in reality is an AxCrazy mass-murderer who had a strained relationship with their father and at one point was held prisoner by lunatics, before seducing / befriending the supposed main villain]], are ambiguous as to whether or not the BigBad is actually TheHeavy, and have a not-unimportant subplot involving energy sources (oil in Bond; clean energy in Batman). Probably a few other things as well.

* ScullyBox: In the comics, Bane towers over Batman. But Tom Hardy is shorter than Christian Bale, so he had to wear high heeled boots and camera tricks were also used so that Bane would be equal on height with Batman during scenes where they are both on-camera.

** Creator/JessicaBiel lobbied heavily for the role of Catwoman and was confident that she would get it. Anne Hathaway was ultimately cast. Kate Mara was also screen-tested.
** Zoe Kravitz claims she was turned down for a minor role because of her race. She was told they weren't "going urban". People have theorised that the role she had planned to audition for was Jen, which ultimately went to Juno Temple.

* ActingInTheDark: For the scene near the end, [[spoiler: John Blake's real name 'Robin']] was dubbed in afterwards to hide it from everyone - including Joseph Gordon Levitt.

** The instructions Alfred gives to Selina Kyle about delivering dinner to Bruce, including being told to drop off the tray and lock the door behind her, have been said to be similar to something Anne Hathaway's character in ''Literature/TheDevilWearsPrada'' does.

** Tom Hardy had previously forced Burn Gorman to his death in a TV adaptation of ''Literature/WutheringHeights'', where they played Heathcliffe and Hindley respectively.

* AwesomeDearBoy: Tom Hardy accepted the role of Bane without even reading the script.

** Anne Hathaway had previously been set to play Felicia Hardy - the Black Cat - in Sam Raimi's planned fourth ComicBook/SpiderMan movie. Here she plays another cat-themed AntiVillain for a rival comics company.

** Tom Hardy gained thirty pounds of muscle to play Bane. Anne Hathaway also worked out five days a week to be able to fit into her SpyCatsuit.
** Christian Bale, in addition to his usual bulking up, had his hair dyed to make Bruce look older.

* FanNickname: [[Franchise/StarWars Darth]] [[SeanConnery Connery]] for Bane. People have often compared his voice to Connery playing Darth Vader.

* RealLifeRelative: Christopher Nolan's cousin Miranda cameos as the maid gossiping about Bruce Wayne in the opening. Her father John reprises his role as Wayne Enterprises board member Douglas Fredericks.
* RealLifeWritesThePlot: Heath Ledger's Joker was originally intended to appear in this film in a major way; his death, and Nolan's ''absolute'' insistence on Joker not being recast and thus written out, did result in some significant changes to the original plan for the film. Exactly how much was changed, or what a final film with Ledger would have looked like, remains a point of speculation and debate to this day.

* CastingGag: Anne Hathaway had previously been set to play Felicia Hardy - the Black Cat - in Sam Raimi's planned fourth ComicBook/SpiderMan movie. Here she plays another cat-themed AntiVillain for a rival comics company.

* RealLifeWritesThePlot: Heath Ledger's Joker was originally intended to appear in this film in a major way; his suicide, and Nolan's ''absolute'' insistence on Joker not being recast and thus written out, did result in some significant changes to the original plan for the film. Exactly how much was changed, or what a final film with Ledger would have looked like, remains a point of speculation and debate to this day.

*** When the boy is singing the National Anthem, the camera pans down the sideline to show us the starting lineup, including Steelers players. In addition to Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and Hines Ward, you will see Big Ben Roethlisberger, Brett "The Diesel" Keisel, Mike Wallace, Maurkice Pouncey, and Rashard Mendenhall. You don't see their names on the jersey, but if you've watched Steelers games, they're easy to identify because they wear their real player numbers (as is Ward).

** Similarly, had Heath lived, Dave Goyer's (but not necessarily Nolan's) plans for the third movie would have involved the Joker going on trial while Two-Face (who would have turned out to be OnlyMostlyDead) went on a rampage across Gotham.
*** There was also rumors that Crane's role as the KangarooCourt judge would have gone to the Joker had Ledger still been alive.

** Two instances with Creator/TomHardy as Bane: Subtly placing his hand on Daggett's shoulder after his BullyingADragon rant, and his line when listening to the national anthem at the stadium: "That's a lovely, lovely voice."

* HeyItsThatGuy:
** Bruce's doctor is [[RenoNineOneOne Lt. Dangle]].
** [[Literature/WutheringHeights Heathcliffe and Hindley]], [[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1238834/ together again!]] The former turning on the latter as soon as he gains a position of strength, as ever.
** [[Series/StargateSG1 Teal'c]] captures Blake while he's trying to free cops from a sewer manhole.
** [[Film/AnimalKingdom Pope Cody]] is John Daggett.
** [[Series/GameOfThrones Littlefinger]] (or [[Series/TheWire Carcetti]]) is a CIA agent and [[TheWire Bunny Colvin]] is an army officer.
** [[Series/{{Lost}} Richard Alpert]] was the mayor of Gotham.
** And [[Series/{{Lost}} Goodwin Stanhope]] is the congressman kidnapped by Selina.
** [[Series/{{Torchwood}} Owen Harper]] is Daggett's right-hand man. [[Literature/WutheringHeights This isn't the first time he's been antagonistic]] with a character played by TomHardy.
** The Army Captain on the bridge is [[{{Series/BurnNotice}} Vaughn]], [[{{Series/Supernatural}} Uriel]] and [[{{Series/TheWire}} Bunny Colvin]].
** [[Creator/CillianMurphy Fischer Jr.]] is also there but just like before he seems to be doing his own thing.
** [[StTrinians Celia]] is Selena's friend/roommate.
** [[Series/BlueBloods Jamie Reagan]], [[Series/{{Dexter}} Joey Quinn]] and [[{{Grimm}} Sergeant Wu]] all show up as police officers.
** [[Series/CriminalMinds Will LaMontagne]], does your daddy know you're running around with folk like Bane?
** [[Film/FullMetalJacket Joker]] (no, not ''[[NamesTheSame that]]'' [[SelfDemonstrating/TheJoker one]]) is Foley.
** This isn't the first time [[Series/StargateSG1 William Devane]] has played the President ([[Series/TwentyFour or the last one]]). Or a [[Series/TwentyFour higher-up in]] [[Series/TheWestWing the American government]], for that matter.
** Creator/FredricLehne also has a cameo as a stockbroker.
** [[Film/MerryChristmasMrLawrence Mr. Lawrence]] punches Bruce's protruding vertebrae back in.
** Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) reprises his "role" from ''Film/TheDarkKnight'' as a board member of Wayne Enterprises.
** [[Film/RamonaAndBeezus Ramona Quimby]] is a young [[spoiler:Talia al Ghul.]]
* HeyItsThatVoice:
** [[Creator/WadeWilliams The warden of Blackgate]] is, ironically, [[WesternAnimation/BatmanUnderTheRedHood Black Mask]], [[WesternAnimation/BatmanTheDarkKnightReturns Two-Face]], and [[WesternAnimation/BewareTheBatman Killer Croc]].