Hollywood Central: 'Dark Knight Rises' Prologue Confirmed By Warner Bros.

Six-minute sequence will run on select IMAX screens before 'Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol' showings.
By Kevin P. Sullivan

Christian Bale and Tom Hardy on the set of "Dark Knight Rises"
Photo: Getty Images

Well, it took long enough. Warner Bros. has finally pulled back the curtain on the hotly anticipated six-minute opening sequence from "The Dark Knight Rises."

/Film originally broke the story in October, reporting that a short prologue would run on select IMAX screens before showings of "Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol." For over a month, the studio had remained silent on the topic, and when the AMC theater chain released a statement confirming the report, the post was removed soon afterward.

When the MPAA handed down a PG-13 rating for the prologue alone, the event was all but confirmed.

Now, an official statement from Warner Bros. is reiterating most everything previously said about the preview. It will last six minutes and consist of the film's first sequence. The clip was shot on the IMAX 15 perf 65mm/70mm film that director Christopher Nolan used for several key action sequences during "The Dark Knight."

There has been much speculation about the content of the preview. This month's issue of Empire confirmed that the prologue would introduce Tom Hardy's Bane.

Unfortunately for some Batman fans, as previously stated, the "Dark Knight Rises" prologue will only play before "Ghost Protocol" on screens using true 70mm IMAX projection, so theaters with the more common digital projection will not get the preview. All told, only 42 screens in the U.S. and Canada will show it.

Here is a list of the theaters where you can catch the "Dark Knight Rises" prologue starting December 16:

Austin, TX - IMAX Theater Austin

Boston, MA - Jordan's IMAX - Natick

Boston, MA - IMAX 3D Theatre in Reading

Calgary, AB - Scotiabank Theatre Chinook 16

Chantilly, VA - Udvar-Hazy Center IMAX

Chicago, IL - Navy Pier IMAX Theatre

Des Moines, IA - SCI IMAX Dome Theater

Detroit, MI - Henry Ford IMAX - Dearborn

Edmonton, AB - Scotiabank Theatre Edmonton

Harrisburg, PA - Whitaker Center for Science & the Arts

Houston, TX - Houston Marq*e Stadium 22 + IMAX

Indianapolis - White River IMAX

Los Angeles, CA - Irvine Spectrum 21 + IMAX - Irvine

Los Angeles, CA - RAVE 18 + IMAX

Los Angeles, CA - Ontario Palace Stadium 22 + IMAX - Ontario

Los Angeles, CA - CityWalk Stadium 19 with IMAX - Universal City

Madison, WI - Star Fitchburg 18 with IMAX - Fitchburg

Miami, FL - AutoNation IMAX - Fort Lauderdale

Minneapolis, MN - Great Clips IMAX - Apple Valley

Montreal, QC - Cinema Banque Scotia Montreal

Nashville,TN - Opry Mills Stadium 20 + IMAX

New York, NY - Lincoln Square 13 with IMAX

New York, NY - Palisades IMAX - West Nyack

Omaha, NE - Star Cinema 16 with IMAX - Council Bluffs

Orlando, FL - Regal Pointe Orlando Stadium 20 + IMAX

Ottawa, ON - SilverCity Gloucester + IMAX - Gloucester

Palm Springs, CA - Desert IMAX Theatre - Cathedral City

Philadelphia, PA - IMAX at the Tropicana - Atlantic City

Philadelphia, PA - Tuttleman IMAX - Franklin Institute

Phoenix, AZ - Arizona Mills 25 with IMAX - Tempe

Providence, RI - Providence Place 16 with IMAX

Quebec City, QC - IMAX Le Theatre At Quebec

Sacramento, CA - Esquire IMAX

San Antonio, TX - IMAX at RiverCenter

San Francisco, CA - Metreon 16 with IMAX & ETX

Seattle, WA - Boeing IMAX - Pacific Science Center

Tampa, FL - Museum of Science and Industry

Toronto, ON - Coliseum 12 Mississauga + IMAX

Toronto, ON - Scotiabank Theatre Toronto + IMAX

Toronto, ON - Colossus 18 Woodbridge + IMAX - Woodbridge-Vaughan

Vancouver, BC - Colossus Langley + IMAX - Langley

Vancouver, BC - SilverCity Riverport + IMAX - Richmond