'The Dark Knight Rises' biggest story I've told: Christopher Nolan

"The Dark Knight Rises", the final part of his Batman trilogy, is the biggest story he has told so far, says maverick Hollywood filmmaker Christopher Nolan, known for his intriguing films "Inception" and "Insomia".

"It's the biggest story I've told and I'm very excited about it. It's got an enormous amount of things in it that I'm very passionate about it. So, at the moment I'm just really enjoying it," Nolan told IANS in an email interview.

"By all accounts, 'The Dark Knight Rises' is the definition of epic - shooting on location across three continents, with a daring aerial stunt sequence, a massive crowd scene involving explosions and over 10,000 extras, and a full complement of new gadgets and vehicles.

"But for me, the massive scale is almost secondary to the emotional headwinds the characters are facing. They (characters) are larger than life and I will miss that because that is not something you can apply to an ordinary story," he added.

Slated for a July 20 release, the film will see Christian Bale reprising his role as caped crusader Batman. The cast also includes Anne Hathaway, Morgan Freeman and Liam Neeson.

Nolan admits he had never thought of making a trilogy.

"When I started this journey with 'Batman', I didn't anticipate that I'd now be finishing up the third film. But stories have a beginning, middle, and an end, and a trilogy of films naturally lends itself to telling a complete story."

"From 'Batman Begins' to 'The Dark Knight' to, now, 'The Dark Knight Rises', I feel a great sense of completion for affording the rare opportunity to tell a complete story with such depth and breadth. I've managed to put everything into the movie that I wanted to do with the character. It's done for me," he added.

Nolan is one of the rare directors who has used the conventional film method to shoot "The Dark Knight Rises" rather opting for the digital format.

Explaining his decision, he said: "The resolution of the image, the quality, the scale of storytelling that you're allowed to do in that (film) format, there's simply nothing else in the world that lets you do that. It went very smoothly in 'The Dark Knight', we decided to shoot a lot more of the film that way.

"All of the action in 'The Dark Knight Rises' is captured by Wally Pfister (Oscar-winning cinematographer), a good portion of it using IMAX cameras. There is over an hour of footage shot with IMAX cameras along with all of the major action in the film," he said.

He feels that the viewers will have a "unique experience" and claims that "they'll be seeing something completely unique that no one has ever done before. It's going to be a very out-of-the-world experience."

Nolan is moving from one superhero flick to another as he gears to produce "Man of Steel" (Superman movie) to be directed by Zach Snyder.