The Dark Knight Rises / one sheet / advance / Batman / International

09.06.14

Asian one sheet poster (Batman style) for The Dark Knight Rises (2012). Designed by IgnitionAsian one sheet poster (Batman style) for The Dark Knight Rises (2012). Designed by Ignition, image 2Asian one sheet poster (Batman style) for The Dark Knight Rises (2012). Designed by Ignition, image 3Asian one sheet poster (Batman style) for The Dark Knight Rises (2012). Designed by Ignition, image 4
Title
The Dark Knight Rises
Year of Film
2012
Director
Christopher Nolan
Starring
Christian Bale, Gary Oldman, Tom Hardy, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Anne Hathaway, Marion Cotillard, Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, Matthew Modine, Alon Aboutboul, Ben Mendelsohn
Origin of Film
USA | UK
Genre(s) of Film
Action | Crime | Thriller
Film Series
Batman
Type of Poster
One sheet
Style of Poster
Batman
Origin of Poster
International (Asia)
Year of Poster
2012
Designer
Ignition
SS or DS
DS
Tagline
RISE

Christopher Nolan’s incredible Batman trilogy launched in 2005 with Batman Begins (opens in a new tab) and ended with The Dark Knight Rises (opens in a new tab) in 2012. The final installment was following on from arguably the greatest film based on a comic book character yet to be released, The Dark Knight (opens in a new tab), which featured Heath Ledger’s unforgettable performance as the villainous Joker (opens in a new tab). The actor’s tragic demise meant the character would not be returning for what Nolan decided, after a deliberation of a few months following the second film’s release, would be the final entry in his series of films.

Set a few years after the events in The Dark Knight, the film opens with a jaw-dropping mid-air sequence onboard a plane during which we’re introduced to the film’s big bad, comic book favourite character Bane (played by Tom Hardy), who sets in motion a plan that will threaten Gotham and the reclusive, physically ailing Batman. At first it seems as though Bane is acting alone but soon a sinister plot is revealed that sees Gotham literally isolated from the rest of the world with Batman unable to help. The film also features Anne Hathaway’s Catwoman (opens in a new tab), initially a selfish thief but later an ally of the Dark Knight, keen to help prevent a terrible explosive disaster.

Following on from the second film was always going to be a tricky prospect and some filmgoers were not as impressed with the final film in the trilogy. But many, including me, felt it was pretty much the perfect end to Nolan’s take on DC Comics’ most beloved character. The only thing which I did find somewhat lacklustre was the marketing campaign, especially in comparison to the host of posters printed for The Dark Knight. A fairly intriguing teaser (opens in a new tab) gave way to a number of rather less interesting one sheets and the British quads weren’t great.

Not all of the posters were disappointing, however, and this was one of three international advance character one sheets that were designed by Ignition Creative and printed for use in international English-speaking territories. This particular set came to me from Singapore and features a URL with ‘Asia’ in it but I have also seen UK versions of the same posters.

Ignition are a creative agency based in Los Angeles and London and they offer print, audio/visual (including trailers) and interactive (websites) for film, TV and games. Their official site (opens in a new tab) features hundreds of examples of their work and you only have to look at the gallery of their work on IMPAwards (opens in a new tab) to see how prolific they are. The firm worked on the majority of the posters for The Dark Knight Rises and often generates lots of posters for each campaign it works on.

To see the other posters I’ve collected that were designed by Ignition click here.

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