'The Dark Knight Rises' could film near Occupy Wall Street: Will Batman, once again, save the day?

Image Credit: Stephen Vaughan

While the protestors, organizers, and everyday people who make up the grassroots political movement Occupy Wall Street weren’t exactly depending on a superhero to help them bring attention to their cause, they may have just gotten one anyway. (And the best one ever, at that.)

As The Los Angeles Times reported, Christopher Nolan will soon be transplanting the production of The Dark Knight Rises, which is currently filming in Los Angeles, to the streets of New York City “for 14 days starting Oct. 29, according to a casting notice recently issued by producers.” But, residents of Gotham may soon look like the residents of Zuccotti Park, the main hub of the Occupy Wall Street movement.

An anonymous person close to the production claimed to the LA Times that, “cast members have been told the shoot could include scenes shot at the Occupy Wall Street protests.” The source also noted that the protestors wouldn’t necessarily be part of the storyline, prompting the LA Times to conclude that “[Nolan would] simply be using the protests as a backdrop or a stand-in for something that already exists in the film.”

Though many Occupy Wall Street activists positively responded to the recent wave of celebrity support from the likes of Russell Simmons and Susan Sarandon, how would they feel about a big budget production possibly filming right where they have spent the past month living and fighting for their rights? And could filming intensify the tension between the protestors and those trying to get them to evacuate the area?

EW spoke with Patrick Bruner, an organizer for the Occupy Wall Street movement and member of the New York General Assembly, who informed us that they had not yet heard about the possibility of The Dark Knight Rises filming in downtown New York City, but that it likely wouldn’t interrupt them or their cause. “I don’t necessarily think [filming] would be a deterrent of what we’re doing,” said Bruner, adding, “With so many cameras pointed at us, it doesn’t really make a difference what kind of cameras they are.”

In fact, Bruner, who currently resides in New York City, only sees the possibility of Bruce Wayne and his high-profile co., riding into town as a positive thing for Occupy Wall Street. “I think that it would be great to have the added attention to the cause … More people could hear about us and join our conversation.” (Bruner also counts himself as an OWS-er who has no problem with celebrity involvement within the movement. Bruner, who said OWS is “grateful” for any support that get, told EW, “We don’t really believe in [the notion of] celebrity. In Liberty Square, we’re all equal.”)

Still, there’s no word yet on how TDKR filming could effect those living in Zuccotti Park, who had a showdown with Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Brookfield Property (who own the piece of land in downtown Manhattan) last week. While the OWS residents were allowed to stay for the time being, Bruner told EW that Brookfield offered to talk about “a series of proposals,” but a conversation between the parties have not yet occurred.

The City of New York Mayor’s Office of Film Theatre & Broadcasting did not respond to EW’s request for any additional information about the filming, but they do list Magnus Rex (boy, will fans of Irish dinosaurs be disappointed when they find out this isn’t what they hoped it would be) as one of their current productions. We’ll just have to wait and see if Batman can keep the peace in Gotham… and Zuccotti Park.

Read more:
‘The Dark Knight Rises’: Watch the official teaser here!
Occupy Wall Street marches on in NYC: Do protestors feel celebrity support is helping or hurting their cause?
Russell Simmons tweets support for Occupy Wall Street, as Bill O’Reilly has some choice terms for Zuccotti Park protesters