‘The Dark Knight Rises’ Bane Mask Concept Art

In the blockbuster movie The Dark Knight Rises (2012) Tom Hardy plays Bane, a mercenary who plans to destroy Gotham with a thermonuclear bomb. While the comic book character wore a Mexican wrestler mask, the movie character had a distinctive gas mask.


A lot went into the look and design of the mask according to costume designer Lindy Hemming.

Check after the jump for some of the designs. Click on the images to enlarge

"A lot of the film was going to take place in the dark, with Bane and fighting," Hemming explained, "and we couldn't have one black lump of a head fighting another black lump of a head. And so, to make sure they would be easily identifiable we had to make those two silhouettes—Batman's and Bane's—look completely different."

The designers began removing parts of the full head mask to make a simplified minimalist look. As the mask got smaller the tubing and devices became streamlined. "I'd been playing with all kinds of elaborate tubing and devices for the mask," said Hemming, "but all of that had to be streamlined, because as we made the mask smaller, there was no place to put it all. So the mask was just reduced and reduced. I also wanted the mask to look animalistic, like something that might bite you, and so I referenced a lot of gorillas and spiders and the like."

  Official Synopsis:
Warner Bros. Pictures’ and Legendary Pictures’ “The Dark Knight Rises” is the epic conclusion to filmmaker Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy.
It has been eight years since Batman vanished into the night, turning, in that instant, from hero to fugitive. Assuming the blame for the death of D.A. Harvey Dent, the Dark Knight sacrificed everything for what he and Commissioner Gordon both hoped was the greater good. For a time the lie worked, as criminal activity in Gotham City was crushed under the weight of the anti-crime Dent Act.
But everything will change with the arrival of a cunning cat burglar with a mysterious agenda. Far more dangerous, however, is the emergence of Bane, a masked terrorist whose ruthless plans for Gotham drive Bruce out of his self-imposed exile. But even if he dons the cape and cowl again, Batman may be no match for Bane.

Leading an all-star international cast, Oscar(R) winner Christian Bale (“The Fighter”) again plays the dual role of Bruce Wayne/Batman. The film also stars Anne Hathaway, as Selina Kyle; Tom Hardy, as Bane; Oscar(R) winner Marion Cotillard (“La Vie en Rose”), as Miranda Tate; and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, as John Blake. Returning to the main cast, Oscar(R) winner Michael Caine (“The Cider House Rules”) plays Alfred; Gary Oldman is Commissioner Gordon; and Oscar(R) winner Morgan Freeman (“Million Dollar Baby”) reprises the role of Lucius Fox. The screenplay is written by Christopher Nolan and Jonathan Nolan, story by Christopher Nolan & David S. Goyer. The film is produced by Emma Thomas, Christopher Nolan and Charles Roven, who previously teamed on “Batman Begins” and the record-breaking blockbuster “The Dark Knight.” The executive producers are Benjamin Melniker, Michael E. Uslan, Kevin De La Noy and Thomas Tull, with Jordan Goldberg serving as co-producer. The film is based upon characters appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by Bob Kane.

Via Screenrant 

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