First unveiled over at the movie's official website, the first poster for Christopher Nolan's third and final Batman installment sets the stage for an astonishing amount of carnage and mayhem.

Check it out past the jump!

At first glance, you would be forgiven for thinking that this poster isn't for "The Dark Knight Rises," but for an "Inception" sequel. There are no characters to be found here, not even a single line of text (save for a reminder of the general release date, Summer 2012, and a gentle nudge about IMAX). The central focus of the poster is a crumbling Gotham City, something that's more akin to the damaged dreamscape of "Inception." But Batman's signature insignia, etched out of the ruined buildings and the clouded sky above, gives us all the information we need: bad things are coming to Gotham, and only one man can rise to the occasion (get it?) to stop them from happening.

"The Dark Knight Rises" features returning Batman actors Christian Bale, Michael Caine and Gary Oldman as Bruce Wayne, Alfred and Commissioner Jim Gordon respectively. Newcomers to Nolan's final Bat-flick include Tom Hardy as Bane, Josh Pence as a young Ra's Al Ghul, Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle (alias Catwoman), Marion Cotillard as Miranda Tate and Joseph Gordon-Levitt as John Blake.

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