First look at Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle in 'The Dark Knight Rises'

The first official look at Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle.

Warner Bros. is apparently in a revealing mode, because right on the heels of the first official photo of Henry Cavill ("Stardust") as Superman in "Man of Steel," we have a first look at Anne Hathaway ("Love and Other Drugs") as Selina Kyle in Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight Rises."

Production on Nolan's third and final Batman film is currently underway in Pittsburg, Penn. (There have been some unofficial photos snapped at various filming locations in the city, but with few exceptions, you will not find such photos here as I'm not interested in plot spoilers, especially for this film.)

The official photo (above) shows Selina has gotten her hands on Batman's Batcycle. Fans, of course, know that Selina Kyle is the morally gray Catwoman in the comics, a master thief and sometimes hero. In recent years, she discovered Bruce's secret identity and has had an on-again/off-again relationship with the caped crusader.

How she will be portrayed in Nolan's film remains to be seen.

'The Dark Knight Rises' teaser poster debuts online

The first teaser poster for Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight Rises" has hit the net, featuring a crumbling Gotham creating the famed symbol of Batman.

The film will be released July 20, 2012.

It is an interesting motif, and rather reminiscent of limbo in Nolan's "Inception." Other than the fact that we know the third film in the director's Batman trilogy adds Selina Kyle/Catwoman (Anne Hathaway, "Love and Other Drugs") and Bane (Tom Hardy, "Inception") as the major villains, little has been revealed about the story.

An open casting call for the film described "a city besieged by crime and corruption," which could explain a symbolic reason for the crumbling city in the poster. A less likely answer could be that it is referring to the No Man's Land arc in which Gotham is struck by a massive earthquake and left to fend for itself by the federal government.

In the comics, Bane orchestrates a mass breakout of Arkham Asylum as part of his quest to wear down Batman and take him out, a feat he ultimately succeeds at. This would fit the viral marketing which has appeared online describing a prison break.

Open casting call issued for 'The Dark Knight Rises'

An open casting call has been issued for "Magnus Rex," which appears to be the production title for Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight Rises."

SWD Casting issued the call for Pittsburgh, where "The Dark Knight Rises" is being filmed.

Prisoners, guards, cops sought

According to the casting call, "A Warner Bros. Film requires extras to play as victims and perpetrators within a city besieged by crime and corruption. Take part in the urban action adventure ripping through the streets of Pittsburgh from July 28 through Aug. 21."

Viral videos released on Youtube have suggested a mass breakout from Gotham City's Arkham Asylum.

The full casting is available behind the jump.

Viral videos tease 'The Dark Knight Rises'

"The Dark Knight Rises" is going viral with a series of Youtube videos depicting chaos and destruction to the tune of strange chanting.

TheFireRises, which is the same moniker of the Twitter user who unveiled the teaser photo of Tom Hardy as Bane, has posted several videos (shown below).

The latest shows footage of Gotham City News anchor Mike Engel (Anthony Michael Hall) covering a break-out at Arkham. The others show anything from hooded prisoners, a burning taxi, an ambulance and a skyscraper on fire.

The chanting is the same that graces the film's official website.



(More videos after the jump.)

First look at Tom Hardy as Bane in 'The Dark Knight Rises'

Tom Hardy as Bane in "The Dark Knight Rises"

Principal photography began this week on Warner Bros. Pictures’ and Legendary Pictures’ "The Dark Knight Rises," the conclusion to filmmaker Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy.

Leading the cast, Academy Award winner Christian Bale ("The Fighter") again plays the dual role of Bruce Wayne and Batman. The film also stars Anne Hathaway ("Love and Other Drugs") as Selina Kyle/Catwoman, Tom Hardy ("Inception") as Bane, Marion Cotillard ("La Vie en Rose") as Miranda Tate and Joseph Gordon-Levitt ("Inception") as John Blake.

Returning to the main cast are Michael Caine ("The Cider House Rules") as Alfred, Gary Oldman as  Commissioner Gordon and Morgan Freeman (“Million Dollar Baby”) as Lucius Fox.

According to the studios' release, Nolan is utilizing IMAX cameras even more extensively than he did on "The Dark Knight." The screenplay for "The Dark Knight Rises" was written by Christopher Nolan and Jonathan Nolan based on a story from Christopher Nolan and David S. Goyer.

Warner Bros. released the first photo of Hardy as the villainous Bane (shown above) through a viral Twitter account. In the comics, Bane is one Batman's most dangerous enemies, possessing a mind for strategic planning in addition to the super-human strength he gains from the drug, Venom. He once broke the crime fighter's back, forcing him into retirement.

Unfortunately, Bane was portrayed by Jeep Swenson in 1997's "Batman and Robin" as a mindless thug working for Poison Ivy (Uma Thorman), just one of the many crimes committed by that film. Swenson died later that same year.

Carbonell in talks to return to "The Dark Knight"

Nestor Carbonell (left) as Mayor Garcia in "The Dark Knight"

"The Dark Knight Rises" may be filmed in a new town, but it looked like it will have the same mayor.

According to Variety, Nestor Carbonell is in talks to reprise his role as Gotham City's Mayor Anthony Garcia. The actor is perhaps best known for his role as the ageless Richard Alpert in ABC's "Lost."

"The Dark Knight Returns," which will film in Pittsburg, Pa., is set for a July 20, 2012, release.

Three more join 'The Dark Knight Rises' cast

According to Variety, the cast of Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight Rises" has grown by three.

Daniel Sunjata ("Rescue Me," "Grey's Anatomy") will reportedly play a special forces officer while Diego Klattenhoff ("Mercy," "Men in Trees") will be a rookie cop.

Meanwhile, Burn Gorman ("Layer Cake," "Torchwood") will play an unknown supporting role.

"The Dark Knight Rises," which will film in Pittsburgh, Pa., is set for a July 20, 2012, release.

Josh Pence joining 'The Dark Knight Rises' as a young Ra's

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Josh Pence ("The Social Network") has joined the cast of Christopher Nolans' "The Dark Knight Rises."

Pence, who played Tyler Winklevoss in "The Social Network" (and had Armie Hammer's face digitally painted over his for the final movie), will be a young Ra's Al Ghul.

Ra's Al Ghul was played by Liam Neeson in "Batman Begins" and The Hollywood Reporter quotes sources saying Pence will play the character some 30 years in the past.

Little is known about the plot for "The Dark Knight Rises" only that Anne Hathaway ("Love and Other Drugs") is joining the cast as Selina Kyle and her criminal alter-ego, Catwoman, and Tom Hardy ("Inception") will be the dangerous Bane.

Along with Hardy, his "Inception" co-stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Marion Cotillard are also new additions to the Batman franchise

Nolan has said in the past he considers his run to be complete at the conclusion of the third film and Pence's casting as a young Ra's seems to confirm that "The Dark Knight Rises" will come full circle to tie everything together.

'The Dark Knight Rises' to film in Pittsburgh

Batman is moving to Pittsburgh.

As first broken by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Christopher Nolan will be filming "The Dark Knight Rises," the third and reportedly final film in his Batman series, in the Steel City.

Chicago provided much of the exterior cityscapes for "Batman Begins" and crews spent 13 weeks in the city for "The Dark Knight," but the bat has flown the coop this time.

"Pittsburgh is a beautiful city," the Post-Gazette quoted Nolan. "We have been able to find everything we were looking for here, and I am excited to spend the summer in Pittsburgh with our final installment of Batman."

"We are thrilled to be welcoming the Batman film to Pittsburgh, and eager for the economic impact that our city will experience," Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl said in a statement. "This is another example of the growing film industry in our community, and we will be rolling out the red carpet for them."

Nolan has done a wonderful job over the course of the two films so far in making Batman's Gotham City a character in its own right. Despite its name, "The Dark Knight" showcased much more of the city than its predecessor in the daylight.

So little is known about the story of "The Dark Knight Rises" it's hard to judge now just how the city will be portrayed and used by Nolan. The film is scheduled for release on July 20, 2012.