Much of The Dark Knight Rises has already been spoiled – at least in part – thanks to a multitude of set photos and set videos.

We know what Batman’s new vehicle looks like, we know what Catwoman and Bane look like, and (SPOILER ALERT) we know that Bane and Marion Cotillard’s character are in cahoots.

As we’ve previously warned, pre-release details can provide MILD to MEDIUM SPOILERS for The Dark Knight Rises. If you are attempting to avoid spoilers altogether, please be advised to turn away now – you have been WARNED.

Ever since Cotillard was hired to play the suspiciously inconspicuous-sounding “Miranda Tate,” speculation has run rampant that she is actually playing Talia al Ghul, daughter of Batman Begins’ villain, Ra’s. However, at the NYC premiere of Contagion, Cotillard vehemently denied that her character was from the comic books at all.

Courtesy of MTV Splash Page, when asked if she looked to the comics for background information about her character, Marion Cotillard said:

"Well, actually, it was not based off of a character in the comic.”

The interviewer was dubious, so he pressed her on the issue repeatedly - over and over again, Marion Cotillard insisted that she was absolutely telling the truth, and that her character was absolutely not derived from the comic books.

So what’s the deal here, Screen Ranters? Do you think she’s telling the truth? Do you think she’s referring to the Miranda Tate aspect of her character specifically? Or maybe she just doesn’t know enough about the comic books to comment in the first place?

Then again, it’s not hard to imagine that Cotillard might be a bit gun-shy with regard to revealing information about her character, especially after she referred to it as a “secret role” – a revelation that exploded across the blogosphere and served only to fuel the “Miranda Tate is secretly Talia al Ghul” fires.

At this point, the issue has been built up so much by both blogs and fans that it might be genuinely disappointing for Cotillard’s character to be anyone but Talia al Ghul. And it’s worth noting that one of the reasons this rumor has caught fire is that R’as al Ghul, at least in flashback, has been confirmed to make an appearance in the film.

So what’s the verdict? Is she telling the truth? Not telling the truth? Do you think she’ll end up playing Talia, despite what she says here? Let us know in the comments.

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

Source: MTV Splash Page