There has been much speculation as to where The Dark Knight Rises will be filming when it starts production in 2011; New Orleans being the major rumor, with some sites even going as far as to “confirm” that to be true. However, not too long ago our pals over at Hero Complex sent out a tweet officially killing that rumor, denouncing it as a “total myth.” With the New Orleans filming theories officially in a casket, we are once again left with the question; Where will The Dark Knight Rises be filming?

The answer seems simple because it is. Christopher Nolan’s last installment in his Batman saga will make its return to the Cardington airship sheds in Bedfordshire, England. Both Batman Begins and The Dark Knight filmed in the enormous hangers there, as did Nolan’s most recent cinematic outing, Inception. According to Variety, Chris and team will be returning to the United Kingdom to finish the Batman story, as well as to take advantage of the tax credits offered there. The airship sheds were home to many vast sets in the series, including ‘the narrows’ and the batcave. Perhaps a new batcave will be one of the new sets built inside the hangers? One can hope.

It’s probably safe to assume that production will also return to Chicago, the real life American city that often doubled for Gotham in Nolan’s films. Filming isn’t said to begin until May of next year, but Variety‘s David S. Cohen sent out a funny tweet last night saying that Nolan told him that his script is due tomorrow (Monday) or else he’s in big trouble! Nolan was no doubt being tongue-in-cheek, but nonetheless I am a tiny bit surprised the script is demanded of him. Now all we need is someone to tell us what is in it! I guess we’ll just have to wait, but I suppose an official announcement from Warner Bros. could crop up in the next month or so. Until then…

Thanks to Shindler2010 in the forums for the tip.