Christopher Nolan Screens ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ to WB Execs

Christopher Nolan has close to four months before his wildly anticipated 'The Dark Knight Rises' reaches theaters, but reports say he recently delivered his first rough cut of the trilogy finale to Warner Bros. executives.

The report says Nolan has been “a fixture” on the studio lot lately as he put the finishing touches on his first pass of the massive blockbuster. Jeff Robinov, president of Warner Bros. Pictures, and production president Greg Silverman are among the select group who were able to see Nolan’s first cut of 'Rises'. Details about the screening, of course, were kept under lock and key.

Nolan's story introduces Bane (Tom Hardy) to Gotham City, while also finding room for Catwoman (Anne Hathaway) and, potentially, Talia al Ghul. Christian Bale returns as the caped crusader, assisted by Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman and the great Michael Caine.

So what next? Well, we continue to wait. The studio likely will make suggestions about where Nolan could cut (depending on the picture’s length), though 'Batman Begins' and 'The Dark Knight' weren’t short films, and Nolan likely will have a little leeway on final cut here as he’s trying to bring a masterful and much-loved trilogy to a close.

The THR report does add a bit of speculation as to Nolan’s potential involvement in San Diego Comic-Con. The trade notes that while the 'Prestige' director has yet to attend the massive fan event, his 'Rises' opens the week after the convention and could make a marketing splash by bringing footage – or a finished print – to Southern California. Not that 'Rises' needs the bump. It could open tomorrow, with no warning, and it still would set box-office records. But at least we know that 'Rises' is 90% close to being finished, and Nolan’s vision is coming into focus.

'The Dark Knight Rises' will be in theaters on July 20 … as if you didn’t know.