Until now, rumors had been flying around that Christopher Nolan’s original “director’s cut” of The Dark Knight Rises would be featured on the Blu-ray as an additional feature.
As many Nolan fans can tell you, the version you watched in theaters was the director’s cut, and according to The Playlist (via Slashfilm).
Rumors began when special features from the DVD let loose that additional scenes from Bane’s past were shot but never added. In our modern world where such a scene could be included as a deleted scene or a special feature, many sites simply assumed that it would be included in a final longer cut of the movie. If we know Nolan, this will not be the case.
This follows suit with Nolan’s other movies, none of which have featured a director’s cut, or even much in the way of special features or deleted scenes. Nolan has long been lauded for being one of the last “old school film-makers” that prefer to keep movie magic a secret, but this same respect has earned him the criticism of fanboys, most of whom want a little more for the price of the film on Blu-ray.
It’s possible that we’ll be able to catch a few of the scenes that were deleted from the final cut, but odds are they’ll be presented separately from the film. As for the release date of the film’s at-home incarnate, that still remains a secret, though 2008’s The Dark Knight made a killing by releasing just before Christmas, ensuring that every nerd on the block got at least three copies from Santa on December 25.
To be fair, Nolan has gone back on his word before. Remember when he said that Bane’s voice wouldn’t be altered for clarity? Anyone who saw the first cut of the prologue could tell you that Bane’s voice was much more menacing before the changes. Maybe that will be the director’s cut, a version with Bane’s original (and much more threatening) voice.
Or maybe we’ll just get more of the same.