Future Film News: Tom Hardy Drops Hints About Bane in 'Dark Knight Rises' and 'Inception' Sequels

I imagine many moviegoers had the same experience leaving "Inception" as I did: I was wanting more, but knew that a sequel was unlikely due to the movie's ending.

Still, it seems that a sequel to the dreamscape thriller might not be a complete impossibility: in an interview with UK TV personality Alan Carr, "Inception" star Tom Hardy mentioned that he is signed on for future "Inception" sequels. He said that he doesn't know whether or not they will happen, but he's signed on!

Hardy also talked about the upcoming third installment in Christopher Nolan's Batman series, "The Dark Knight Rises". Hardy has been tapped to play the hulking villain Bane, and mentioned that he is working on bulking up from 168 to 196 lbs. for the role.

That means that between the time he landed the role (just weeks ago) and when shooting begins in May, he's gaining 30 pounds of muscle...though he says it's just "a lot of fat and trickery".

Also notable were Hardy's comments about the Bane "costume". He showed the audience a picture of the awful Joel Schumaker "gimp suit" for Bane in "Batman and Robin", and mentioned that Nolan would be revisiting Bane's appearance and coming up with something new.

This is to be expected from Nolan, who has already re-imagined the Joker as a sort of punk anarchist clown, and gave Two-Face an even more gruesome, horrifying look. Still, it's good to hear some affirmation that Nolan will stick with the gritty, realistic sensibilities of the trilogy in designing this character.

There has been some debate after this interview aired as to whether Bane's mask will be there at all. When asked by Carr whether he would have to wear the "gimp mask", Hardy coyly replied, "Only if I feel like it." In seriousness, he said only that Nolan would "revisit that territory", so it is still possible that Bane will be masked.

All that leather, though, should be long gone. Thank goodness.