I Don't Believe In The Dark Knight Packaging

There are a couple of images making the rounds on various websites that are supposed to be for the pending DVD/Blu-ray release of The Dark Knight. If the images and rumors are to be believed, there will be a 2-disc DVD release, a Blu-ray release, and then some specialty packaging: a Batman mask collector’s edition, a steelbook case, and a Batpod collector’s edition. JoBlo.com ran the images yesterday, as did movie blog Slashfilm.

So, why didn’t I jump on these and post them sooner? I don’t buy it. I think these are fakes. Don’t get me wrong, they are pretty cool, but something about them is rubbing me the wrong way, despite JoBlo saying they’ve gotten confirmation these are legit. Traditionally, American audiences don’t invest in cool packaging like the Batpod or Batman mask, so they aren’t often offered in this country. Japan, yes. America, no. We drool over cool packaging from other countries, but don’t put our money where our drool is when they appear here.

On top of that, the artwork on the DVD steelcase and Blu-ray package is rather generic, just using a poster image, and the same poster image (how common is it for a steelcase to use the same exact artwork?) while the 2-disc edition artwork uses part of a promotional image, focused specifically on Batman. I can see the poster art becoming a standard package, but no focus on the Joker in any of the packaging? It just feels wrong.

So, I’m calling bullshit on these. If they turn out to be right, I’ll have egg on my face, but I think they’re probably cooked up by a fan somewhere. We’ll see soon I’m guessing. With expectations that The Dark Knight will hit shelves in early December, a press release will probably be issued in the next month to give us disc content information and proof that this is either the real deal or fakes.

Images of the alleged case art below.

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