The Dark Knight Rises to a PG-13 rating; Gary Oldman paranoid about script

With the release date of The Dark Knight Rises getting ever closer, we’re starting to see the final bits and pieces falling into place. And thanks to some eagle-eyed forum members over at nolanfans, we can now confirm that director Chris Nolan’s final installment in his Caped Crusader trilogy has received a family friendly PG-13 rating.

The forum member, Jake088800, spotted the rating on the Warner Bros. Exhibitor website and posted this screen grab:

For those of you not possessing EYES OF THE HAWK-hawk-hawk-, that description reads:

“PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, some sensuality and language”

Now seeing as every single Batman movie since Tim Burton’s 1989 classic has received a PG-13 rating from those starched shirts over at the MPAA, this may not seem like the biggest news, but you have to remember that The Dark Knight created quite a stir with it’s PG-13 rating as many felt that it’s pitch black tone and themes were not quite family friendly. Comparing the descriptions of the two films, you will find that they’re pretty similar except that for TDKR they’ve now also thrown in the added adjective of “sensuality”. I have a feeling that Anne Hathaway’s Selina Kyle is probably going to be responsible for that sensuality, though I’m sure that some of you are holding out for some Alfred action.

Also of note is the fact that the running time is still blank, but based on recent word that Nolan aired a 4 hour cut to WB execs, it’s safe to to say that the final cut will probably be between 150 to 180 minutes.

We won’t know for certain until very close to release date of course, due to the incredible secrecy with which Nolan makes his movies. And for one star of the film, Gary Oldman, this clandestine business is not exactly comforting. The acclaimed actor reveals to Britain’s Daily Star that he never leaves his home with the film scripts after having a nasty scare in which he thought he had lost his copy, only to luckily find it under his hotel room mattress:

“I daren’t travel with my Batman scripts in case I lose them. I have to just make copies of the scene I’m learning that day. I keep all the scripts in a very safe place – they’d kill me if I lost one. I’d never take them on a train or anything like that. It’s all pretty top secret. They code each script and put your name on it so if I ever can’t find one I do panic. We really are sworn to absolute secrecy until the film comes out.”

Last Updated: April 10, 2012