Christian Bale
Christian Bale returns as the caped crusader in Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight Rises," out in 2012. REUTERS

The city of Pittsburgh welcomed The Dark Knight Rises director Christopher Nolan and Batman star Christian Bale with the display of the Bat signal upon its downtown Highmark building.

A press conference was hosted by the Governor, City Mayor, and County Executive in introducing Nolan, Bale, producers Emmma Thomas, Kevin De La Noy to Pittsburgh. Bale and Nolan thanked the city officials and spoke briefly about the upcoming events that are scheduled to happen during filming.

"Well, I hope that all of you guys are going to feel cooler 'cause of the fake snow, I certainly won't be -- stuck in that rubber suit all the time," said Bale at a press conference Pittsburgh.

"I think the architecture of this city is a very beautiful city on a very impressive scale and yet one which has a community that hasn't lost its human scale. Those are two elements that are extremely hard to find and incredibly valuable to a production like 'The Dark Knight Rises,' where we're really looking to have the architecture of a major American city somewhat disrupted by what we're going to do," said Nolan.

Nolan plans to begin filming tomorrow and will spend a month in the city along with a scheduled shoot at the Pittsburgh Steelers football stadium Heinz Field.

In other news, a leaked tweet from Kevin O'Leary revealed that the new Batcave is currently in development at the MGM studios in Los Angeles. In the tweet O'Leary wrote,

"Just saw the Batcave being built in stage 30 on the MGM lot but they would not let me take a pic for you Its fantastic I'm a huge Batman fan."

No photos or images have hit the internet yet but scheduled filming in LA will initiate in late August or early September.

The last time fans saw the Batcave was in Nolan's first film Batman Begins. The Batcave was shot in London at that time and included 1:3 miniature scaled sets created at Leavesden studios for the Batmobile's entry scenes. Batman's first Batcave was unfurnished due to its recent discovery. The cave was originally used as an Underground Railroad to help slaves escape during the Civil War. Bruce Wayne converted it into a hideout for Batman's equipment and Batmobile. The Dark Knight Rises may see much improvement to a newly renovated Batcave as described by Alfred in the closing scenes of Batman Begins.

Lastly the news about Warner Bros requesting scraps from a recycling company in Bedfordshire revealed clues to a potential Siberian Prison scene that may involve Bruce Wayne or Bane. The owner of the recycling company reported that The Dark Knight Rises set workers picked up sheets of old and rusty corrugated roofing. The production team has returned in search of more materials for on set props.

After seeing clips of an unknown figure doing pushups in what pears to be a prison, speculations have it that the movie may have shown flashback clips of Wayne training within jail cells before donning the Batman cowl.

Bane may also have been featured as his character back-story involves spending time in prison. During his time behind bars, the character would physically train his body before being forced into a drug experiment that increased is strength and speed.

Check out photos of potential prison cell clips along with the Pittsburgh Batsignal and Batcave.

Also Read: Latest: Evil Villains and Heroes of 'The Dark Knight Rises' (Photos)