Director Christopher Nolan's newest film was supposed be the summer's blockbuster. Instead, after a shooting rampage that has left 12 dead, the last Batman film The Dark Knight Rises is now forever connected to one of the deadliest mass shootings in United States history.

After news of the shooting, the Paris premiere of the film was cancelled and a scheduled press junket was scrapped, reported The Hollywood Reporter.

Nolan released a statement today, acknowledging the tragedy and specifically addressing the fact that the shooting took place in a movie theater, the place he calls his "home." He wrote:

"Speaking on behalf of the cast and crew of 'The Dark Knight Rises', I would like to express our profound sorrow at the senseless tragedy that has befallen the entire Aurora community. I would not presume to know anything about the victims of the shooting but that they were there last night to watch a movie. I believe movies are one of the great American art forms and the shared experience of watching a story unfold on screen is an important and joyful pastime. The movie theatre is my home, and the idea that someone would violate that innocent and hopeful place in such an unbearably savage way is devastating to me. Nothing any of us can say could ever adequately express our feelings for the innocent victims of this appalling crime, but our thoughts are with them and their families."

Our friends at Monkey See, by the way, have written about Batman today as the superhero who makes us "feel a little less lost and a little less scared."

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Source: NPR