Let me ask you this: why would Christopher Nolan bring “The Dark Knight Rises” to Comic-Con?
Forget about a full-blown screening of the film, which is never going to happen. Warner Bros. isn’t going to show 10,000 people something they know those 10,000 people are going to see a week later at $15 a pop. That’s just math. But regarding a panel for the film, what would make anyone think that with his final film, following up one of the most successful films of all time, Nolan would suddenly change his entire game-plan and show up with his cast and clips and answer questions?
To be clear, the rumor started to spread last week that Warner Bros. was planning a secret Comic-Con panel for the film, and as the rumor grew, it eventually became “AND THEY ARE SCREENING THE MOVIE, TOO!”
Nope. Not true. Neither one of those things is happening.
First of all, it’s just not the way Nolan does things. Dan Fienberg pointed out earlier that he did a WonderCon panel for “Inception,” and that is true. But that was a very expensive original movie with no pre-sold audience, and he did that because he knew Warner wanted him to do everything possible to convince the audience to go. That’s not true with Batman. “The Dark Knight” was a phenomenon, one of those movies that crossed over from the fanboy audience to become bigger than “just” a hit. The character has been a mainstream mainstay for so long, and these films are such giant hits, that if anything, Warner Bros. wants to try to play it mellow as long as they can.
When Comic-Con happens, the cast and crew will be on their world tour of premieres and press days and talk shows and what have you, and the last people they need to convince to go see it are the people who will show up in San Diego dressed like characters from a film they haven’t even seen yet. I think Warner Bros. is pretty secure in the idea that you will buy a ticket to the film. It’s more important to them to sell a ticket to the audience that isn’t already onboard.
And to be clear… this isn’t speculation. I can state with authority that there will be no panel and no screening at Comic-Con. If you see the rumor repeated anywhere, you can discount it immediately.
“The Dark Knight Rises” on July 20, 2012.