Corona | Coming Attractions

The Dark Knight Rises, the final chapter in director Christopher Nolan's Batman movie trilogy will arrive on store shelves on December 4, 2012. Warner Bros. will be releasing the film on Blu-ray, DVD and digital download, and there will also be a special limited edition "bat pod" box set for Bat-collectors to add to their collection.

Just in case you were off planet this past summer, The Dark Knight Rises is the second-highest grossing movie in the Batman movie franchise, taking in $433 million dollars domestically (and $100 million of that came from IMAX showings.) For the third time Christian Bale reprises his role as the gruff-sounding caped crusader and tortured billionaire Bruce Wayne. Also coming back for the three-peat were Gary Oldman as Police Commissioner James Gordon; Morgan Freeman as Wayne Industries CEO Lucius Fox; and Michael Caine as Alred Pennyworth, the loyal servant and confidant of Batman/Bruce Wayne. New additions include Tom Hardy as the movie's villain, Bane; Anne Hathaway as Catwoman; Joseph Gordon-Levitt as street cop John Blake; and Marion Cotillard as Wayne Industries board member Miranda Tate.

Let's begin with the bonus features that will come on The Dark Knight Rises Blu-ray:

• "Ending the Dark Knight": A featurette showing how Nolan and his creative team prepared to draw a fitting conclusion to his Batman era of filmmaking.
• "The Batmobile Documentary": Take a look back at all five of the vehicles the Dark Knight drove in his movies. Profiles of each of the Batmobiles will be given including a breakdown of each of their capabilities, armament and technology.
• "The Prologue": How Nolan created the breathtaking opening sequence from The Dark Knight Rises where Bane hijacks a plane in flight.
• "Return to the Batcave": A look at the newly designed Batcave seen in The Dark Knight Rises.
• "Beneath Gotham": The subterraean lair of Bane and his henchmen is shown in detail.
• "The Bat": How is the Batman costume in the third movie different from the ones seen in Batman Begins and The Dark Knight?
• "Batman vs. Bane": The two fighters and their brawls are broken down and illustrated by the film's fight choreographer and stunt people.
• "Armory Accepted": The gadgets and weaponry of Batman, Bane and Catwoman.
• "Gameday Destruction": How was the sequence showing Bane detonating the playing field of the Gotham Rogues created?
• "Demolishing a City Street": The destruction of a Gotham street.
• "The Pit": Creating the desert jail of Bruce Wayne and Bane and giving the location its unique, forbading look.
• "The War on Wall Street": Bane's takeover of Gotham's financial hub.
• "Race to the Reactor": The car chase between Talia al Ghul and Batman.
• "The Journey of Bruce Wayne": How the character of Bruce Wayne evolved into who he is in The Dark Knight Rises.
• "Gotham's Reckoning": The mayhem of Bane: why he wants to destroy Gotham and his method of bringing the city to its knees.
• "A Girl's Gotta Eat": The creation of Anne Hathaway's Catwoman.
• "Shadows & Light in Large Format": The movie's look.
• "The End of A Legend": Bringing a close to Christopher Nolan's era of Batman movies.

Also included on the Blu-ray: the movie's trailers, art galleries and a DVD and UltraViolet copy of the film.

For a few more dollars you could size up your DVD/Blu-ray experience and get the Limited Edition "Bat Cowl" box set which includes the same Blu-ray/DVD combo set as well as a desk statue of Batman's broken cowl:

The studio will also release a Dark Knight Rises app that will be available on most smartphones. "TDKR: Gotham City's Most Wanted" will allow users to place a Tumbler vehicle into their personal photos, videos and more. A second update is planned to come in early December which will allow second screen integration.

Warner Home Video is pricing The Dark Knight Rises Blu-ray at $35.99 and the DVD version at $28.99, while the "Bat Cowl" limited edition retails for $39.99.