Ever since James Holmes allegedly opened fire on an Aurora, Colo., theater, many have speculated that The Dark Knight Rises, the third installment of Christopher Nolan‘s acclaimed trilogy, influenced the 24-year-old former graduate student to turn lethal.

But new evidence suggests that Holmes — who wore red-dyed hair and told authorities he was Batman arch nemesis, The Joker — may have been inspired by a darker, more twisted cinematic take on the famed Batman comic-book tale.

The Suffocator of Sins writer-director Dave “Diggity” Aragon has claimed Holmes — who has been charged with 24 counts of first-degree murder in the July 20 mass shooting — called him a week before the Colorado tragedy and drilled him with detailed questions about his film, which portrays Batman as a heavily-armed vigilante.

“He kept pressing if I could give him more information on the story,” Aragon told KNX 1070 radio in Los Angeles, noting that Holmes claimed to have watched the movie’s trailer more than 100 times.

“He wanted to know how many people Batman kills. He wanted to know if it was selective killing. Does he make a list of people he wants to kill, or is it a mass body count?”

Could the film have sparked Holmes’ alleged shooting spree that killed 12 and injured 58?

It’s certainly not a simple cause and effect, but Holmes’ interest in Suffocator of Sins reveals the unstable state of his mind.

“Holmes’ behavior, including his extreme obsession with the new ‘dark, twisted’ rendition of the Batman story, is similar to people suffering from paranoid schizophrenia, going through an acute psychotic breakdown,” Dr. Mark Levy, a forensic psychiatrist in Mill Valley, Calif., who has not examined Holmes and cannot ethically make a diagnosis of him, told Celebuzz.

“[While] most psychotic individuals are less dangerous than the general population, acutely psychotic paranoid individuals…can be substantially more dangerous,” continued Levy.

Why was Holmes such a threat? Because “he lost touch with reality during the days and weeks that led up to the Aurora shooting tragedy,” reasoned Levy.

“Holmes is extremely intelligent, but his ability to interpret reality accurately was rapidly sliding downhill,” Levy explained. “Imagine what it must have felt like for a super-intelligent young individual who has won accolades for his brain power and whose self-esteem no doubt was largely based upon his intellect, to be in a deteriorating state where he could no longer rely upon his perceptions of reality.”

As a result, Holmes may have been trying to “impose order” on his “growing sense of internal chaos and fragmentation,” said Levy.

In fact, such a deteriorating mental state was noted by Holmes’ psychiatrist just one month prior to the massacre, according to Reuters. Dr. Lynne Fenton warned a threat assessment team at the University of Colorado, Denver, in early June because she was alarmed by Holmes’  behavior.

But “the committee believed — wrongly, in my opinion — that it had no authority to report him to the police once he abruptly dropped out as a student,” said Levy. “[But] they had a duty under the law to do so, as did the psychiatrist, although her duty is mitigated by having reported his potential threat to a university committee charged with seriously evaluating such concerns.”

Still, there remains no real sign as to why Holmes became fanatical about Batman in particular. But an answer should come to light as his trial gets underway.

“Whether he was projecting his own internal aggression onto those around him and thereby felt inaccurately threatened,” explained Levy, “or whether he lost his own identity so completely into that of the Joker or other fictional villainous characters and then simply acted out according to his belief that he had become the fictional character, no one can say without talking at considerable length with Holmes and learning about his thinking.”

So until psychiatrists sit down with the suspected shooter, Levy said, it is nearly impossible to completely comprehend “what went on in [Holmes'] mind during the days and weeks leading up the shooting.”

Holmes, who may face the death penalty, is next due in court on September 27.

What do you think caused James Holmes to commit the Dark Knight massacre?  State your case in comment.

Prosecutors have filed 142 charges — including 24 for first-degree murder — against James Holmes, the 24-year-old former graduate student who allegedly killed 12 and injured 58 when he indiscriminately opened fire on an Aurora, Colorado, screening of the Dark Knight Rises on July 20.

In his second court appearance on Monday, Holmes was charged with two counts of first-degree murder for every life lost in his alleged shooting spree: one count of “murder with deliberation” and another count of “extreme indifference to the value of human life,” according to NBC.

The accused mass murder was also charged with 116 counts of attempted murder, according to court documents, as well as one count of illegal possession of explosives and one sentence enhancer because the attack was a crime of violence. Holmes faces a total of 142 criminal charges.

Did the suspect make a statement in his hearing?

Holmes’ attorneys asked for more time before entering a plea. The only time he spoke was when asked if he agreed to waive his rights to a preliminary hearing within 35 days. He answered “yes.”

Now that Holmes has been formally charged, prosecutors will have 60 days from the date of the arraignment to decide if they will seek the death sentence for alleged gunman. The murder charges carry a minimum penalty of life in prison and a maximum of death.

During Monday’s hearing, Colorado District Court Judge William Blair Sylvester also heard several motions, including those from Holmes’ attorneys, who asked for access to documents related to the investigation, according to The Washington Post. Prosecutors said they have thousands of pages of police reports and lengthy lists of witnesses.

Holmes has been in police custody for 10 days, being held without bond in solitary confinement at an Arapahoe County detention facility in Centennial, Colorado, since being arrested early July 20.

The man suspected of killing 12 and injuring 58 in a mass shooting during an Aurora, Colorado, screening of The Dark Knight Rises is due back in court Monday, July 30.

James Eagen Holmes, a 24-year-old former doctoral student in neuroscience, faced the court for the first time on Monday. Looking dazed and despondent, the red-haired alleged gunman sat silently as the judge advised him on the case.

During an early Friday premiere showing of the new Batman blockbuster, a heavily armed Holmes allegedly entered the theater through a propped-open emergency exit and indiscriminately opened fire — using an AR-15 assault rifle, shotgun and handgun — on the packed theater. He was reportedly wearing ballistic protective gear.

Holmes has been held without bond in solitary confinement at an Arapahoe County detention facility in Centennial, Colorado, since being arrested early Friday. He is expected to face first-degree murder charges, and possibly additional counts of aggravated assault and weapons violations.

Celebuzz has the latest updates on the tragedy that has shook the nation.

1. Before Friday’s massacre, Holmes sent his plans for mass shooting to a professor.
Law enforcement officials have discovered a notebook in which Holmes spelled out in surprising detail his attack on the Aurora, Colorado, Dark Knight Rises screening, according to Fox News. The notes were mailed to a professor at University of Colorado Anschutz — where Holmes attended a neuroscience doctoral program before dropping out — more than a week ago. But the package was still sealed when unearthed by police and FBI in the school’s mail room, where it had reportedly been since July 12. “Inside the package was a notebook full of details about how he was going to kill people,” according to a source, including “drawings and illustrations” of gun-totting stick figures taking aim at other stick figures. The professor to whom it was addressed allegedly treats patients in the on-campus psychiatry facility, but it is unknown whether he had contact with Holmes. This new evidence may prove helpful in mounting a case for the prosecution, showing that Holmes methodically planned out his movie theater massacre.

2. Holmes may have solicited prostitutes.
According to an online message board, Holmes supposedly reviewed some Colorado-area hookers, detailing sexual encounters with several woman, TMZ reports. Two women TMZ reached couldn’t confirm they had a rendezvous with Holmes. But one woman, who identified herself as Tiffany, said, “I had no issues with him…he was really nice. He felt bad I wasn’t getting more customers while in Colorado, so he called a few days later and we met up again.”

3. Holmes is desperate to know how Dark Knight concludes.
“Did you see the movie?” a flat-toned Holmes asked a taken-aback jail employee on Tuesday, according to the New York Daily News. “How does it end?” The witness recalls the suspect looking “like he was sincerely curious … like he had no idea why there was anything wrong with what he was saying. It was sick … I think he’s trying real hard to act crazy.”

4. Victims’ relatives are urging the media to focus less on the shooter.
Amidst the media blitz surrounding the shooting, some relatives of those killed are asking news outlets to abstain from using Holmes’ name and image. Fearing that the suspect acted out of desire for nationwide attention, Tom Teves — whose son Alex lost his life in the tragedy — made a statement: “I would like to see CNN come out with a policy that said, ‘Moving forward, we’re not going to talk about the gunman. What we’re going to say is, a coward walked into a movie theater and started shooting people. He’s apprehended. The coward’s in jail. He will never see the light of day again.’ Let’s move on to the victims. Never talk to him again.” Jordan Ghawi, whose sister Jessica was killed, explained, “I want the victims to be remembered rather than just this coward.”

5. Dark Knight Rises shooting survivor gives birth.
Kate Medley — whose husband Caleb is in a medically induced coma following the massacre — gave birth to a baby boy on Tuesday morning. After undergoing three surgeries since Friday, Caleb remains in critical condition and on a ventilator. The couple attended the Dark Knight Rises premiere on their last date before 9-months-pregnant Kate was set to induced and deliver on Monday. Since the shooting, more than $100,000 has been donated to the family.

6. Following the shooting, Colorado sees a surge in gun sales.
In the three days that followed the Friday massacre, firearms sales have spiked, with buyers expressing fear about personal safety and the possibility of heightened gun control law, according to Newsday. The state approved 2,887 background checks for people who wanted to purchase a firearm — 25 percent more than the average Friday to Sunday period in 2012 and 43 percent more than the same interval the week prior. “What they’re saying is … they want to have the ability to protect themselves and their families if they are in a situation like what happened in the movie theater,” said Dick Rutan, owner of Gunners Den in suburban Arvada, Colorado. And similar patterns can be seen across the nation, with states like Oregon, Georgia and Washington also noting that gun sales are up.

7. Warners Bros., the studio behind Dark Knight Rises, will postpone the release of Gangster Squad.
In the wake of the mass shooting, Warner Bros. pulled a Gangster Squad trailer — which featured a movie theater shoot-out scene — from screenings on July 20. Now, the studio is pushing back the film — which revolves around Los Angeles mafia criminals in the ’40s and ’50s — from its September 7 release, eyeing a January 11 premiere instead, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The move will provide time for re-shoots, presumably to rid Gangster Squad of the violent scene at the famous Grauman’s Chinese Theater.

8. DC Comics delays release of new Batman comic book.
Out of respect for the mass shooting victims, the big-time comic publisher will postpone by a month the debut of its highly anticipated new comic Batman, Incorporated #3, according to E!. DC Comics announced the decision in a letter to retailers, due to “content that may be perceived as insensitive in light of recent events.”