A quick update, but an exciting one: the first official image of Tom Hardy as Bane has been released! So, what exactly will Bane look like in The Dark Knight Rises?
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| Bane as seen in DC Comics. In case you hadn't noticed, he likes breaking peoples' backs. Tom Hardy as Bane: |
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He pretty much like he usually does, actually. Though it’s impossible to draw any concrete conclusions from such a shadowy picture, Nolan doesn’t seem to have made any drastic changes to Bane’s appearance – he’s still a scarily muscular dude with a mask. The mask, however, does seem to be somewhat different than usual – specifically the mouthpiece. Some have already posed the theory that in TDKR Bane breathes Venom in as opposed to having it pumped through his body, which would definitely explain the mask’s new look. On the other hand, Nolan might have just wanted to make the mask look a bit more realistic. Anyway, while the exact nature of Bane’s Venom usage is up for debate, the mask definitely looks like it’s outfitted to supply him with the drug in some manner, meaning Venom will most likely be included in the film.
As nice as it is for an official The Dark Knight Rises photo to be released, this one isn’t all that telling. I guess we’ll just have to keep waiting for more info…
Oh, and one last thing: this new image was released through as viral game where tweeting with the hashtag “#thefirerises” adds your Twitter avatar to some big-ass collage of Bane. You can see it here. Also, the website for The Dark Knight Rises is now up, and if you go there you can listen to some super-fun indistinct chanting. Just who is chanting and why they are doing so isn’t explained, but I think it could be some sort of League of Shadows thing. Or not. Hard to say. Anyway, both The Dark Knight and Inception had some pretty cool viral marketing campaigns, so I’m looking forward to more of this type of thing for TDKR in the future.
