WIZARD WORLD CHICAGO -- THE DARK KNIGHT PANEL

ROSEMONT, ILL. -- Director Christopher Nolan admits he is extremely reluctant to show portions of his films before they're done. But, because of a good convention experience with Batman Begins three years ago, and the fact he is again shooting in Chicago, Nolan decided to bring footage -- and some friends -- from The Dark Knight to Wizard World Chicago on Saturday.

A raucous crowd at Wizard World Chicago on Saturday -- needing wristbands to attend and heavily scrutinized for recording or photography equipment -- got the first public look at The Dark Knight in a panel that wasn't announced until Friday and drew some 1,200 on Saturday.

The clip -- which was prepared for the convention; even the actors hadn't seen it before -- gave fans a slam-bang look at the major players in the film, include Heath Ledger's Joker, Maggie Gyllenhaal taking over as Rachel Dawes and Eckhart's Harvey Dent.

The action sequences showed the Batmobile, the Batpod, fights between Batman and The Joker, fires and lots of mayhem.

The clip ended with a sledge hammer taking out the Bat-signal. Cut to a bar, where Harvey Dent, his back to the camera but still some discoloration showing on the left side of his face, is ordering a drink.

"But I thought you was dead," says a shaken bartender.

"Half," replies Harvey.

Concert-like chants for "one more time!" erupted, but even with moderator and DC publisher/president Paul Levitz's encouragement, Nolan declined to show the footage a second time.

Nolan was joined on the panel by his brother and writer Jonathan, writer David Goyer, Christian Bale (who returns as Bruce Wayne/Batman), Aaron Eckhart (Harvey Dent) and Gary Oldman (Jim Gordon).

Following are highlights from the discussion portion of the panel:

* Bale thanked the crowd for their response to Batman Begins, noting it helps provide for a confident approach to the second film. "It's a great honor to reprise this most bad-ass of all characters," he said.

* Eckhart: "You are going to be really, really pleased with what's going on."

* Nolan and Bale were asked what it's like to work together for a third time.

"It's much like any relationship as it progresses," Bale said. "You get to know each other increasingly so that there's a short-hand in conversation and a trust. I enjoy very much what Chris does and allows me to do.

"I enjoy the process. And because Chris' movies are so fantastic at the end."

Bale said that with The Dark Knight there wasn't any of the initial nervousness or doubts about the character and the film.

"It allowed us to stride purposely for toward our goal right from the get-go on this one," Bale said.

Nolan praised as Bale as "extremely talented" and added his physical abilities and precision are key to playing Batman.

"He can do an incredible amount of stunt work," Nolan said. "He blows the stunt guys away. He makes my job much, much easier.

"On a film of this scale with all the physical elements, he can fit in with extraordinary grace."

* Asked about his preparation for roles, Oldman said he uses the script as "a map of the world."

"It always helps to have good material," he said. "You don't do a lot of work outside of the script."

Oldman said the Batman franchise has "been blessed with a great script, a great director and a great cast."

* Bale reiterated his story of learning of Batman through the Adam West television series and not really being a Batman fan.

"He never created a whole lot of interest in my mind," Bale said. "Then I read Frank Miller's Batman: Year One. At that point, I thought, 'Why the hell hasn't anybody made this kind of Batman before? This is the guy I want to see.'"

Bale said he still feels like Batman is like a beast when he puts on the costume.

"In reprising him for the second one, it was like riding a bike," Bale said. "Once you put on that suit, there's only one way you can play it."

* Asked about the viral markting campaign with the film, Nolan smiled and said, "To be honest, there's nothing we can say about that."

* The filmmakers were asked about their approach to The Joker.

Nolan said it was a long process, starting from the card scene at the end of Batman Begins. And a lot the talk was about how The Joker would view Gotham City.

He said that Jonathan Nolan asked him to look at the very first two appearances of The Joker, and that the story and Ledger's performance are "eerily close" to those first two stories.

"The Joker's a lot more theatrical than our take on Batman," Goyer said. "How did he in fit in our universe? The Jack Nicholson version wouldn't fit. How would he fit in -- and that leads to the story you'll see next year."

Concluded Jonathan Nolan: "Now, it's not how to get under his skin, it's how to get him out of my head."

* Asked if something happens to Harvey Dent's face in the movie, Eckhart joked, "I don't speak English."

* Nolan said one of his biggest challenges with The Dark Knight was to do a movie with a huge scale and many characters.

"We're just trying to juggle a lot of balls to put as much on the screen as possible and have a very fat story," he said.

He said noted that growing up, he loved large, epic movies and his directing career has been on a path of increasingly large films.

* Asked if The Dark Knight will showcase more of Batman's detective skills, Nolan said yes, particularly since the origin story was now told. "We're definitely trying to be true to that angle of the character moving forward," he said.

* Goyer was reminded that in Batman Begins, he wanted to drop in "top 10 moments" from the comics. Asked if more would be included in The Dark Knight, he couldn't provide story details, but said, "My jaw's just dropping in this one, really. I think they topped it (Batman Begins)."

*Asked if Rachel Dawes has an importart part in The Dark Knight, Nolan said, "Yes, or I wouldn't have bothered to put her in. You'll have to see the movie."

* Nolan said Ledger has "completely figured out" The Joker.

"I don't want to sound evasive, but it's very personal to him," Nolan said. "The script made sure it's a strong character, and he's taking it and running with it."

Added Oldman: "I've done some scenes with him, and he's going to knock it out of the ballpark."