It’s not a stretch to say that The Dark Knight Rises is the most anticipated film of 2012. And Christopher Nolan is pretty much the most secretive director in Hollywood. So it’s a little surprising he’s showing some of his hand before 2012 even starts.

In an interview with Empire Nolan revealed a tiny detail of the plot. ”It’s really all about finishing Batman and Bruce Wayne’s story,” Nolan said. “We left him in a very precarious place. Perhaps surprisingly for some people, our story picks up quite a bit later, eight years after The Dark Knight. So he’s an older Bruce Wayne; he’s not in a great state.”

That makes some good sense. The Dark Knight left off with Batman running from the police. It also escapes any possible Joker return. It has been 8 years since that guy tore through Gotham City. But why Bane?

“With Bane, we’re looking to give Batman a challenge he hasn’t had before,” Nolan said. “With our choice of villain and with our choice of story we’re testing Batman both physically as well as mentally.”

This also makes sense. In the comics, Bane was not only the smartest villain Batman ever encountered but the strongest. You can also see in the teaser trailer Batman staggers back as he fights him. Bane is tough. Tom Hardy decided to reveal how tough.

“He’s brutal. Brutal,” Hardy said. “He’s a big dude who’s incredibly clinical, in the fact that he has a result-based and oriented fighting style. It’s not about fighting. It’s about carnage. The style is heavy-handed, heavy-footed, it’s nasty. Anything from small-joint manipulation to crushing skulls, crushing rib cages, stamping on shins and knees and necks and collarbones and snapping heads off and tearing his fists through chests, ripping out spinal columns. He is a terrorist in mentality as well as brutal action.”

In the comics, Bane breaks Batman’s back. So this works nicely with that. Bane is not only cerebral, but brutal in action, just like Hardy said. But, how does Bane work? In the comics Bane has tho serum passing through his veins to make him stronger, like a steroid. Does this happen in the movie?

“He was injured early in his story,” costume designer Lindy Hemming said. “He’s suffering from pain and needs gas to survive. He can’t survive the pain without the mask. The pipes from the mask go back along his jawline and feed into the thing at his back, where there are two cannisters.”

That fits perfectly in with Nolan’s realistic Batman world. It makes sense and it’s not over the top. It’s brilliant. So when can we see more? On December 21, the prologue for The Dark Knight Rises will play in IMAX alongside Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol. It will also be on the Internet shortly after that. What can we expect, Mr. Nolan: ”basically the first six, seven minutes of the film” and will serve as “an introduction to Bane, and a taste of the rest of the film.”

Bring it on. [Empire]

Note: You can check out the July issue of Empire to read the full Nolan interview, along with the rest of the cast. The issue is on newsstands now.

bane, batman, christopher nolan, the dark knight rises, tom hardy