Christian Bale and Morgan Freeman where in Hong Kong Friday, filming a scene for the latest Batman movie, “The Dark Knight,” much to the delight of fans who came to see the superhero in action.

Downtown Hong Kong was witness to the first filming of Batman’s adventures outside Gotham City, as director, actors and crew did their work Friday. Police blocked off roads, reports Reuters, and strived to keep the thousands of enthusiastic fans at a distance, while the latter held cameras to catch a glimpse of Christian Bale, who plays Batman.

“I look forward to climbing to the top of your highest buildings and jumping off of them as Batman,” said Christian Bale at a packed press conference, as quoted by the news agency.

“I think it would be a really interesting thing to take this iconic American character and put him somewhere else in the world and in looking for an appropriate location for that I immediately thought of Hong Kong because I think Hong Kong is such an incredibly cosmopolitan place,” said director Christopher Nolan.

While fans were enthusiastic about Batman’s arrival, environmental groups criticized a request for buildings along a waterfront to be kept lit at night in order to highlight the city's impressive skyline. The environmentalists called this a futile consumption of energy.

There were also disgruntled comments when a scene requiring that Bale take a dip into Victoria harbor was cut out, with some speculating that this was over concerns of the water’s pollution.

To this, Nolan serenely replied during the press conference: “That was my decision and it had nothing to do with pollution ... It was simply a script decision. As far as any pollution questions go, I've absolutely no problem in dumping movie stars in the most polluted water.”

The movie, a sequel to 2005’s “Batman Begins” - stars Christian Bale as Batman, Heath Ledger as the Joker and Michael Caine as Batman's butler, Alfred. Morgan Freeman also joined the cast, along with Maggie Gyllenhaal, Aaron Eckhart, Gary Oldman and Eric Roberts.

It is scheduled for a summer 2008 release.