No official date was ever announced for the start of production on The Dark Knight Rises (TDKR), the sequel to The Dark Knight and the third and final Batman movie that Christopher Nolan will direct, but it was believed that it would begin shooting sometime in early May. Now, thanks to The Times of India, we know that TDKR will start filming on May 6th in Jodhpur, India, and shoot for two days. According to the report, Nolan's production team will only consist of 15 crew members and one actor, title star Christian Bale.
The plot of TDKR is still a mystery so it's impossible to know what Nolan and Bale will be shooting in India. Nolan has previously made several references to wanting to wrap up the storyline begun in Batman Begins, which could be referring to Bruce Wayne's (Bale) journey to becoming Batman. In Batman Begins, Wayne travels to the Far East and becomes a thief—ironically, he is arrested for stealing boxes of goods from Wayne Industries, the company he owns—to learn how criminals think and act. While in prison, he is recruited by Ra's al Ghul, as Henri Ducard (Liam Neeson), to join the League of Shadows and learn the ways of the warrior. Given Nolan's desire to wrap up the storyline, it would make sense then if the India scene showed more of Wayne's journey to becoming Batman as a way to tie the movies together.
In addition to India, The Dark Knight Rises production will spend four to six weeks filming in Pittsburgh, which stands in for Gotham City, and is also expected to shoot scenes in New York City and London. The script was written by Nolan's brother, Jonathan, from an idea conceived by Nolan and David S. Goyer. Joining Bale in returning are Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox, Sir Michael Caine as Alfred Pennyworth, Nestor Carbonell as the mayor of Gotham City and Gary Oldman as Commissioner James Gordon. New additions to Batman's rogues gallery include Tom Hardy as the villain Bane, Anne Hathaway as cat burglar and love interest Selina Kyle, aka Catwoman and Josh Pence as the younger version of Ra's al Ghul. Marion Cotillard, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Daniel Sunjata, Diego Klattenhoff, Burn Gorman and Juno Temple also star.