POSSIBLE MAJOR CASTING SPOILER For ‘The Dark Knight Rises’

This spoiler is very unconfirmed, but so spoiler-y that  I don’t even have the heart to put any hints in the title.  Nope, won’t do it.  So DO NOT click on the title of this article if you want what is possibly a major plot point spoiled in The Dark Knight Rises, perhaps the most anticipated film of 2012.

Are you sure you want to keep reading?  Don’t say I didn’t warn you.  Well then…

Hitflix is exclusively reporting that Liam Neeson was on the set of The Dark Knight Rises on Monday to shoot scenes as Ra’s al Ghul.   Hitflix doesn’t know the nature of the role — how many scenes and whether or not it is a flashback or modern day scene.  After all, in the comics Ra’s al Ghul has the ability to come back to life with his Lazarus pits, but, then again, we never actually saw his body in Batman Begins.  Josh Pence has already been cast as a young Ra’s al Ghul for flashback scenes, so will Neeson return as the modern day Ra’s al Ghul, either back from the dead or never having died in the first place?

The current speculation is that these Josh Pence flashback scenes will involve the birth of Ra’s al Ghul’s daughter, Talia — who is widely speculated to be in the film as the true identity of Marion Cotillard‘s (Inception) character.  The comic book Talia is a rival for Batman’s affection (current continuity even says they have a child together, who is Damian Wayne, the current Robin), but it seems more likely that Nolan’s Talia will join Tom Hardy‘s Bane against the Dark Knight.  In fact, in the comics, Ra’s al Ghul tried to marry his daughter to Bane in the 1998 Bane of the Demon storyline.  Whether any of that will feature into Christopher Nolan‘s film is anyone’s guess, and so is Neeson‘s possible participation, since it’s obvious that Nolan is keeping his mouth even more shut than usual!

The Dark Knight Rises also features Christian Bale as Batman/Bruce Wayne, Michael Caine as Alfred, Gary Oldman as Commissioner Gordon, and Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox.  Joining them will be Tom Hardy as Bane, Anne Hathaway as Catwoman/Selina Kyle, Marion Cotillard as a Wayne Enterprises board member, Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Officer John Blake, Alan Aboutboul as a “mad scientist”.  Christopher Nolan, of course, is returning to direct from a script by the Nolan brothers.

What’s your best guess on the storyline of The Dark Knight Rises?  Give us your thoughts in the comments below!