The summer movie season is about to begin, and Entertainment Weekly is kicking things off with their annual Summer Movie Preview. Naturally, Christian Bale and Anne Hathaway grace the cover for Christopher Nolanâs closing chapter in his Batman trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises. The image gives us yet another look at Batman and Catwoman, but EW has also provided some choice quotes from the upcoming issue. Included is Nolan talking about his approach to Catwoman and Tom Hardy addressing the fan outcry over the difficulty of understanding Baneâs dialogue.Hit the jump to check out the cover and to see what Nolan and Hardy had to say. The Dark Knight Rises opens on July 20th.First and foremost, letâs get to the whole ânot understanding Baneâ issue. Speaking with EW, Hardy doesnât seem to think weâll have a problem understanding the dialogue once we settle into the movie:
âThe audience mustnât be too concerned about the mumbly voice. As the film progresses, I think youâll be able to tune to its setting.â
Letâs remember that the IMAX prologue was released just after Nolan had wrapped shooting, so hopefully the final audio mix is a bit more intelligible. Hardy admitted that they didnât go the muffled route without pause:
âItâs a risk, because we could be laughed at â or it could be very fresh and exciting.â
The actor revealed that Baneâs dialect was influenced by âa desire to honor the characterâs brains and Caribbean heritage.â As for Catwoman, EW notes that Nolanâs take is far from the âcampy sexpotâ of some other incarnations, but more along the lines of âa shifty cipher, calloused survivor, and world-class criminal.â Nolan himself described his Catwoman thusly:
âShe has a very strong way of protecting herself and those she cares about, which implies an underlying darkness.â
You can read much more from Nolan, Hardy, and Hathaway herself over at EW. Iâm sure weâll be bringing you more images and choice nuggets of info as the magazineâs issue hits shelves.
Update: We've just posted the 6 new images from EW's The Dark Knight Rises article here.