It was reported today that several of the Pittsburgh Steelers will get their shot at acting as they will make cameo appearances in the latest Batman film which is being filmed in Pittsburgh. “The Dark Knight Rises” features a football scene between the Gotham Rogues and the Rapid City Monuments.
I wrote about this earlier when the football scene was first announced and I was hoping the Steelers would show up on camera:
Hopefully the producers get it right and the Gotham Rogues are wearing black and gold and the Monuments purple, white and black. It would also be pretty cool to see a Steeler or two make a cameo appearance, but that is probably too much to ask.
The Batman producers and directors have obviously done their homework. If this was being filmed in Chicago or San Francisco, it wouldn’t be a huge deal if the Bears or 49ers were included in the movie but it is in Pittsburgh. The Steelers are a large part of Pittsburgh’s identity to others and I’m guessing a football scene was written into the script only after it was decided to film The Dark Knight Rises in the 412.
Here’s a list of the players who will appear in the film:
Ben Roethlisberger, Hines Ward, Willie Colon, Maurkice Pouncey, Mike Wallace, Heath Miller, Aaron Smith, Ryan Clark, Troy Polamalu, James Farrior and Casey Hampton.
The only noticeably absent Steeler is James Harrison, who would be perfect for many different roles in Batman. My guess? Harrison was invited but declined to appear in the film.
This will be really cool for the players and they all seem genuinely excited about it. I’m a big Batman fan and after reading all of the goings on in and around Pittsburgh the last few months, I’ll be more excited to see this in theaters than possibly any other film ever.
UPDATE: KissFM has found out some more details.
Former coach Bill Cowher will be coaching the Rogue (aka Steelers) and the team’s colors are indeed black and gold. Hats off to whoever worked out all of the little details like this. Hollywood knows what’s up.