Hi-Res Stills of Bane from THE DARK KNIGHT RISES

The images, featuring Tom Hardy as the villainous Bane and Christian Bale as Batman, originally debuted in this month's issue of Empire Magazine. The Dark Knight Rises is scheduled for release on July 20th, 2012.

The Dark Knight Rises is the epic conclusion to filmmaker Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy. Leading an all-star international cast, Oscar winner Christian Bale again plays the dual role of Bruce Wayne/Batman. The film also stars Anne Hathaway, as Selina Kyle; Tom Hardy, as Bane; Oscar winner Marion Cotillard, as Miranda Tate; and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, as John Blake. Returning to the main cast, Oscar winner Michael Caine plays Alfred; Gary Oldman is Commissioner Gordon; and Oscar winner Morgan Freeman reprises the role of Lucius Fox. The screenplay is written by Christopher Nolan and Jonathan Nolan, story by Christopher Nolan & David S. Goyer.

The Dark Knight Rises stars Christian Bale, Gary Oldman​, Michael Caine​, Morgan Freeman​, Tom Hardy, Joseph Gordon-Levitt​, Anne Hathaway, Marion Cotillard​, Josh Pence, Daniel Sunjata, Diego Klattenhoff, Burn Gorman​, Nestor Carbonell, Alon Aboutboul​, Matthew Modine​, Tom Conti, Brett Cullen​, Chris Ellis and Joey King and is scheduled to hit theaters July 20th, 2012.