'The Dark Knight Rises': One Of The Most Anticipated Movies Of Summer 2012

Since the 2011 summer blockbuster season is drawing to a close, it's the perfect time to start thinking about the biggest movies of summer 2012. Here's a deeper look into 'The Dark Knight Rises,' one of the most anticipated releases of next summer, hitting theaters on July 20, 2012.

The last "Batman" release, "The Dark Knight," was absolutely enormous, and since it was mostly filmed in Chicago, it holds a special place in our hearts. Warner Bros. chose to film in Chicago for 13 weeks, because Nolan had a "truly remarkable experience" filming part of "Batman Begins" here.

Shooting locations in Chicago included Navy Pier, 330 North Wabash, the James R. Thompson Center, LaSalle Street, The Berghoff, Millennium Station, Hotel 71, the old Brach's factory, the old Van Buren Street Post Office, and Wacker Drive.

The building where the CBS Chicago radio stations are located was also featured in "The Dark Knight." They shot beneath Prudential Plaza in the scene where Batman is riding his motorcycle on lower Wacker Drive and enters Millennium Station, passing by a Starbucks.

Christoper Nolan decided to shoot "The Dark Knight Rises" in Pittsburgh because he felt that he already used too many of the locations in Chicago in the previous movie. Most believe that he changed his mind about shooting the third film in Chicago once he found out that the newest "Superman" movie would be filming in Chicago and it's surrounding suburbs during this summer, the same time most of the scenes would be shot for his movie.

Watch The First Trailer For "The Dark Knight Rises"

The "Dark Knight Rises" could be even bigger than "The Dark Knight" since it ends the epic trilogy directed by Christopher Nolan and starring Christian Bale. The cast is star-studded, also including Anne Hathaway, Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Gary Oldman.

If it is already generating enormous buzz almost a year prior to its release, then this movie will definitely dominate next summer's box office.

Danielle Clasing, CBS Local Chicago