Dark Knight Rises Prison Escape Spoiler

Even after The Dark Knight Rises started shooting, new information about the project has still been sparse at best – an unfortunate fact for fans suffering from Batman movie news withdrawal.

Well, today we have a legitimate, Dark Knight Rises spoiler-filled scene description from a Carnegie Mellon University news release.  Nolan's third bat-film will be filming on Carnegie Mellon's campus (in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) at the end of this month and the beginning of the next.

WARNING! MINOR DARK KNIGHT RISES SPOILERS AHEAD!

Before you read, a few details you should know that will make the following scene description easier to follow: “Magnus Rex” is the working title for The Dark Knight Rises, just like “Rory’s First Kiss” was the working title for 2008’s The Dark Knight. Also, though it doesn't explicitly mention locale, the Software Engineering and Mellon Institutes at Carnegie Mellon are located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania - where Rises has been filming.

Check out the very revealing scene description below (FYI, the good stuff doesn't hit until the second paragraph):

Carnegie Mellon will once again play host to Hollywood, when several scenes for a major motion picture by Warner Bros., currently using the working title “Magnus Rex,” are filmed outside of the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) in late July, and inside and outside of the Mellon Institute in early August. Carnegie Mellon is working closely with the production company to ensure that the university and its students, faculty and staff will benefit from the movie-making experience with minimal disruption to normal operations.

Scenes outside the SEI, which will be portrayed as a prison, will include an explosion, a prison break, precision stunt driving, gunfire, atmospheric smoke, and controlled pyrotechnic explosions.

Scenes outside the Fifth Ave. entrance of Mellon Institute include a standoff between two rivals that escalates into a riot. One character drives a motorcycle through the fourth floor lobby, out the front doors and down the steps onto Fifth Ave. Special effects include precision stunt driving, gunfire and atmospheric smoke.

And check out some photos of the Software Engineering Institute and the Mellon Institute below for an idea of what the aforementioned locations will look like in the film (click to enlarge):

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This isn’t even speculation going on here – this is a straight-up confirmation that there will be a massive prison break scene in The Dark Knight Rises. Seeing as Bane is a character famous for breaking out of prison, taking a trip down to Gotham City, and breaking Batman’s spine over his enormous knee - it’s easy to jump to the conclusion that a prison break will involve Tom Hardy's character in a significant way.

Then again, since when has Christopher Nolan been known to stick closely to the plot of the books?

The other interesting piece of information -- besides a character driving a motorcycle (Bat-Cycle? Cat-Cycle? Bane-Cycle?) "through the fourth floor lobby" -- is the reference to “a standoff between two rivals.” Which begs the question: Who might the two rivals be? Bane vs. Batman? Talia vs. Bane? Catwoman vs. Talia? Somebody else vs. somebody else? Unfortunately, the combinations are plentiful but it's enjoyable to speculate nonetheless.

The Dark Knight Rises hits theaters July 20th, 2012.

Source: Carnegie Mellon University