This July, the Christopher Nolan Batman trilogy comes to an end with the hotly anticipated The Dark Knight Rises.  Later this month, the hype train begins proper, with the 6-minute prologue appearing alongside IMAX screenings of Mission:Impossible - Ghost Protocol, and the first proper trailer being attached to non-IMAX screenings of the same film.

So if you followed the hype of The Dark Knight, you’re probably wondering - when does the viral marketing begin?  The Dark Knight had a very impressive viral game, including fake Harvey Dent rallys, hidden cell phones and “Jokerized” trailers.  Thus far, all we’ve had were surprise reveals of Bane and Catwoman.  And then websites got some surprises today.

Beloved tech nerd publication Wired obtained a fake CIA memo discussing a so called Leonid Pavel, a Russian nuclear official.  I’ve embedded it below.

[caption id=“attachment_5785” align=“aligncenter” width=“500” caption=“Click For High-Rez!"][/caption]

Then, shortly thereafter, movie magazine Empire revealed another document, containing a transcript, mentioning Dr. Pavel.

[caption id=“attachment_5784” align=“aligncenter” width=“500” caption=“Click For High-Rez!"][/caption]

IS THIS THE BEGINNING OF THE DARK KNIGHT RISES VIRAL GAME?!  Perhaps. Empire seems to know more than they’re letting on, saying more will be revealed this week.  Lets keep our nerd panties in a bunch until we know for sure.  If it’s real - are NUKES involved in The Dark Knight Rises?!

The Dark Knight Rises hits theaters on July 20th, 2012.