First off we have this post from Solidus over on the SHH forums. Now ordinarily I wouldn't post anything from there even as rumor but it would seem that this particular guy is looked on as a pretty reliable source of info. And It appears that he did know about Hardy being Bane quite a while ago at least so I figured this was worth sharing even just as something to speculate on. Anyway, here is what he had to say..
Okay. Myself and a few others on these boards have known about Tom Hardy/Bane being the villain for a few months now. And a few will chime in here to show the validity of what I'm about to tell the Hype.
A few months back we heard from a reliable source that Tom Hardy actually did not know who he was playing (Not a big Bat fan I guess) but knew three things that Nolan had told him.
1. He would have to get big again (Bronson size)
2. He would wear a black mask (apparently I think he saw it)
3. He would break Batman's back in the first act.
Sounds pretty hard to believe doesn't it? Batman would surely take a back seat for a while as he recovers and we know there will be no Lazarus pits available for a speedy fix! I would say this is doubtful. Unless someone steps in to take over the mantle of the Bat while Wayne recovers. Azrael did so in the comic of course, but since we have no idea if he will be part of the story or not could Selina Kyle/Catwoman assume that role? It's still unlikely to me that Nolan would have his main character sidelined for any amount of time in that fashion but you never know.
Then we have this next bit of (actual:)news from Brusimm.com. Bucharest Romania has been confirmed as a shooting locale..
The mayor of Bucharest, Romania is pretty excited that a piece of Hollywood is visiting their part of the world in the form of location shoots for Batman 3, The Dark Knight Rises.
Director / writer / producer Christopher Nolan will be hitting up several locations for Batman 3 in the region in and around Bucharest. The plans are also to film in other locations around central Romania also, like in Turda, in a salt mine there.
The salt mine is an interesting locale. Of course it could mean absolutely nothing and simply be used for background shots. But can any of you Bat fans think of another way that a salt mine in Bucharest could shed any more light on possible plot points?
Thanks to DCMF for the use of his pic.