Over the last few months, we’ve been telling you about Warner Bros. Pictures‘ plans to present a six-minute prologue for director Christopher Nolan‘s forthcoming bat-film, The Dark Knight Rises prior to early release showings of Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol in IMAX theaters on December 16th. It was later revealed that the aforementioned prologue would be rated PG-13 and would only be played on 70mm IMAX screens and not any digital IMAX locations.

Now, Warner Bros. Pictures has sent out a press release confirming those details, and adding that Batfans in the UK will be able to see The Dark Knight Rises prologue in select theatres on the 21st of December. Check out the press release and the official list of North American and UK theatres that will be showing the highly anticipated prologue.

Press Release:

Opening Sequence of “The Dark Knight Rises” Will Be Unwrapped Just in Time for the Holidays

The film’s prologue will be released exclusively in select IMAX® 70mm film theatres.

BURBANK, Calif.– Warner Bros. Pictures’ “The Dark Knight Rises”—the epic conclusion to filmmaker Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy—is one of the most anticipated films of 2012, but moviegoers won’t have to wait until next year to see the six-minute opening sequence of the film. The film’s prologue will be unveiled exclusively in select 70mm IMAX® theatres worldwide. The announcement was made today by Dan Fellman, President of Domestic Distribution, and Veronika Kwan-Rubinek, President of International Distribution, Warner Bros. Pictures.

The Prologue will be released in North America on December 16, and in the UK on December 21, 2011. Additional international dates vary by territory and will be announced soon.

In making the 2008 blockbuster “The Dark Knight,” Nolan was the first to use IMAX® cameras in a major motion picture release, and, as now, audiences were given an advance look at that film’s prologue months prior to the Summer 2008 opening. Nolan employed the extremely high-resolution cameras even more extensively on “The Dark Knight Rises”—including the film’s prologue—to achieve unprecedented crispness and clarity and a truly immersive experience for the moviegoers.

Christopher Nolan stated, “Our experience on ‘The Dark Knight’ shooting and projecting IMAX 15 perf 65mm/70mm film was inspiring. The immersive quality of the image goes beyond any other filmmaking tool available, and in revisiting Gotham, we were determined to shoot even more of the movie in this unique format. Giving the fans an early look at an IMAX sequence is a great way to draw attention to what I believe will be an incredible way to experience our story when it comes out next summer.”

North American Theaters –

• Austin, TX – IMAX Theater Austin – Austin
• Boston, MA – Jordan’s IMAX – Natick
• Boston, MA – IMAX 3D Theatre in Reading – Reading
• Calgary, AB – Scotiabank Theatre Chinook 16 – Calgary
• Chantilly, VA/Washington, DC – Udvar-Hazy Center IMAX – Chantilly
• Chicago, IL – Navy Pier IMAX Theatre – Chicago
• Des Moines, IA – SCI IMAX Dome Theater – Des Moines
• Detroit, MI – Henry Ford IMAX – Dearborn
• Edmonton, AB – Scotiabank Theatre Edmonton – Edmonton
• Harrisburg, PA – Whitaker Center for Science & the Arts – Harrisburg
• Houston, TX – Houston Marq*e Stadium 22 + IMAX – Houston
• Indianapolis – White River IMAX – Indianapolis
• Los Angeles, CA – Irvine Spectrum 20 + IMAX – Irvine
• Los Angeles, CA – RAVE 18 + IMAX – Los Angeles
• Los Angeles, CA – Ontario Palace Stadium 22 + IMAX – Ontario
• Los Angeles, CA – Citywalk Stadium 19 with IMAX – Universal City
• Madison, WI – Star 18 Fitchburg with IMAX – Fitchburg
• Miami, FL – AutoNation IMAX – Fort Lauderdale
• Minneapolis, MN – Great Clips IMAX – Apple Valley
• Montreal, QC – Cinema Banque Scotia Montreal – Montreal
• Nashville,TN – Opry Mills Stadium 20 + IMAX – Nashville
• New York, NY – Lincoln Square 13 with IMAX – New York
• New York, NY – Palisades IMAX – West Nyack
• Omaha, NE – Star Cinema 16 with IMAX – Council Bluffs
• Orlando, FL – Pointe Orlando Stadium 20 + IMAX – Orlando
• Ottawa, ON – Silvercity Gloucester + IMAX – Gloucester
• Palm Springs – Desert IMAX Theatre – Cathedral City
• Philadelphia, PA – IMAX & the Tropicana – Atlantic City
• Philadelphia, PA – Tuttleman IMAX–Franklin Institute – Philadelphia
• Phoenix, AZ – Arizona Mills 25 with IMAX – Tempe
• Providence, RI – Providence Place 16 with IMAX – Providence
• Quebec City, QC – IMAX Le Theatre At Quebec – Quebec City
• Sacramento, CA – Esquire IMAX – Sacramento
• San Antonio, TX – IMAX at RiverCenter – San Antonio
• San Francisco, CA – Metreon 16 with IMAX & ETX – San Francisco
• Seattle, WA – Boeing IMAX–Pacific Science Center – Seattle
• Tampa, FL – Museum of Science and Industry – Tampa
• Toronto, ON – Coliseum 12 Mississauga + IMAX – Mississauga
• Toronto, ON – Scotiabank Theatre Toronto + IMAX – Toronto
• Toronto, ON – Colossus 18 Woodbridge + IMAX – Woodbridge-Vaughan
• Vancouver, BC – Colossus Langley + IMAX – Langley
• Vancouver, BC – Silvercity Riverport 18 + IMAX – Richmond

UK Theaters (December 21st) –

• UK – BFI London – London
• UK – National Media Museum IMAX – Bradford
• UK – Glasgow Science Centre IMAX Cinema – Glasgow
• UK – Odeon Manchester IMAX @ The Printworks – Manchester

The Dark Knight Rises is slated to hit theaters on July 20th, 2012.