<P> Several members of the Pittsburgh Steelers have cameo appearances as members of the fictional Gotham Rogues football team in the film, including Ben Roethlisberger, Hines Ward, Troy Polamalu, Willie Colon, Maurkice Pouncey, Mike Wallace, Heath Miller, Aaron Smith, Ryan Clark, James Farrior, LaMarr Woodley, and Casey Hampton, and former Steelers head coach Bill Cowher as the head coach of the Rogues . Pittsburgh mayor Luke Ravenstahl, a kicker in college, appears as the kicker for the Rogues' opponents, the Rapid City Monuments . In 2008, the Rooney family sold a minority stake in the team to Thomas Tull, the CEO and president of Legendary Pictures, which produced The Dark Knight Rises . United States Senator Patrick Leahy, who had made a cameo appearance in The Dark Knight, returned in The Dark Knight Rises, as a Wayne Enterprises board member . Thomas Lennon, who had appeared as a doctor in Memento, once again plays a doctor . India Wadsworth plays the wife of Ra's al Ghul and the mother of Talia . </P> <P>--Christopher Nolan, confirming his involvement in The Dark Knight Rises . </P> <P> Warner Bros. president of production Jeff Robinov had hoped a third film would be released in 2011 or 2012 . Nolan wanted the story for the third installment to keep him emotionally invested . "On a more superficial level, I have to ask the question," he reasoned, "how many good third movies in a franchise can people name?" Nolan said that he never even thought a third film was possible in the foreword for his book The Art and Making of the Dark Knight Trilogy . Nolan only agreed to a third film on the basis of finding a worthwhile story, fearing that he would become bored halfway through production if he discovered the film to be unnecessary . By December 2008, Nolan completed a rough story outline, before he committed himself to Inception . Later in December, Alan F. Horn confirmed that while discussions with Nolan about a third film were ongoing, no casting had been done, and Horn denied all such rumors . Before Nolan confirmed his involvement, Gary Oldman had said he was confident Nolan would return . </P> <P> Following the success of the Joker in The Dark Knight, studio executives wished for the Riddler to be included as the primary villain as he was considered a similar character and encouraged the casting of Leonardo DiCaprio . However, Nolan wanted the antagonist to be vastly different from the previous incarnations and committed to using Bane instead, citing the need for a character with a physical presence within the film . He was initially unfamiliar with the character's back - story, but pointed out the appeal of an archetype, labelling it as "the extreme of some type of villainy". When comparing the choice of Bane with the Joker, Nolan highlighted the Joker as an example of "diabolical, chaotic anarchy and has a devilish sense of humor", juxtaposing him against Bane, whom he likened to "a classic movie monster (...) with a terrific brain ." Nolan has said that his draft of the script was inspired by Charles Dickens' 1859 novel A Tale of Two Cities, which centers around the French Revolution . This homage to Dickens was briefly illustrated by having Bane inconspicuously finger knit paracord in the film, symbolizing his literary character Madame Defarge, and more overtly by Commissioner Gordon's eulogy for Bruce Wayne at the end of the film, which is taken directly from the classic book . </P>

Actor that plays robin in dark knight rises