Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ Won’t Get An Extended Cut

Filmmaker Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises will not receive an extended director’s cut when the movie arrives on Blu-ray and DVD, according to the folks at Screen Rant. Last week, rumors were circulating that moments cut from Bane’s origin story would be inserted back into the film. Nolan, in an effort to keep speculation under control, has issued an official statement on the subject. If you were hoping for a longer version of the trilogy’s final installment, your dreams have just been shattered.

In addition to the extended home video release, Indiewire reports that the supposed “director’s cut” of Christopher Nolan’s action epic would get yet another theatrical release next June. The longer version of The Dark Knight Rises would be used to help promote Man of Steel, the Superman reboot Nolan produced. That, too, is nothing more than just a rumor.

Although a four-hour cut of the feature was reportedly pieced together early into post-production, Nolan explained that this is pretty much par for the course in the filmmaking process.

“Frankly, a lot of that is about music, about [composer] Hans Zimmer,” he said. “We’re going to cut this film faster than anybody can care about anything, so [Zimmer has] to find a way to score it so people feel what they’re meant to feel as they go along. By the end, the last two reels are practically a musical. That’s the way it works on all of the films I’ve done.”

Since Nolan works out most of the kinks during the scripting and editing process, very few scenes are left on the cutting room floor. The director is also granted final cut, which means he doesn’t have to bow to the whims of the studio. Hence, the version of The Dark Knight Rises you saw in the theater is essentially Nolan’s “director’s cut.”

Are you excited about the film’s upcoming DVD and Blu-ray release?