Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne/ Batman in the final installment of the trilogy.
The NBC network and the NBC station group pulled all advertising for The Dark Knight Rises Friday morning because they felt it was inappropriate to have the ads run alongside news stories about the Colorado theater massacre, according to an informed source.
Not long after NBC voluntarily pulled those ads, they got a call from an advertising agency representing Warner Bros., which also asked that the spots be pulled, adds the source.
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NBC is not alone. According to other sources and media reports, many TV stations made a similar decision. The Los Angeles Times reports that in addition to ABC, ads were also pulled off the air by CBS and ESPN due to the sensitive nature of the news about the tragedy.
Some Dark Knight Rises ads showed violence and the use of guns, including one shot of a very large gun pointed at the camera.
Separately, Warner Bros. is re-editing theatrical trailers to remove all references to guns or pictures of guns, according to a report by TMZ.
A spokesperson for Warner Bros. did not respond to several requests for comment. A spokesperson for NBC also declined comment and other networks did not return calls.
