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Chris Nolan has lifted the veil off his third Batman film. He has set Anne Hathaway to play Selina Kyle, who has a double identity as Catwoman. Nolan has also acknowledged that his Inception star Tom Hardy will play the villain role of Bane, an escaped prisoner who became abnormally strong after being pumped full of drugs. Bane is known as “the man who broke the Bat” after he broke Batman’s spinal cord in the comics storyline. Warner Bros has a checkered history with the Catwoman; Michelle Pfeiffer was hailed for her performance as the feline in 1992′s Batman Returns. A subsequent attempt at a 2004 spinoff movie with Halle Berry was a flop. Hathaway has been vying for the role since last November, along with actresses that included Keira Knightley, Rachel Weisz, Naomi Watts, Blake Lively and Natalie Portman. Deadline revealed last October that Hardy was set to play the villain role. That started a guessing game over which Batbaddie he might be. Now we know. Here is the official studio announcement.
BURBANK, CA, January 19, 2011 – Warner Bros. Pictures announced today that Anne Hathaway has been cast as Selina Kyle in Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight Rises.” She will be starring alongside Christian Bale, who returns in the title role of Bruce Wayne/Batman.
Christopher Nolan stated, “I am thrilled to have the opportunity to work with Anne Hathaway, who will be a fantastic addition to our ensemble as we complete our story.”
In addition, Tom Hardy has been set to play Bane. Nolan said, “I am delighted to be working with Tom again and excited to watch him bring to life our new interpretation of one of Batman’s most formidable enemies.”
Nolan will direct the film from a screenplay he wrote with Jonathan Nolan, from a story by Christopher Nolan and David S. Goyer. Nolan will also produce the film with his longtime producing partner, Emma Thomas, and Charles Roven.
“The Dark Knight Rises” is slated for release on July 20, 2012. The film will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.
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the only thing that really needs to be said here is, remember when heath ledger was announced as the joker and everyone went ‘no, i would never pick him!’ etc, etc – nolan hasn’t set a foot wrong with his casting yet so i i’m pretty sure hathaway will make a great selina under nolan’s direction and that bane will be moulded into something much more interesting than his comic book counterpart. . .
and at least we didn’t get bloody harley quinn
Nolan’s version of Harley Quinn would’ve been damn cool.
Harley Quinn would work in Joel Schumacher’s Batman. Its best left in cartoons, not live action.
Agreed!
Christian Bale, Eva Green, Tom Hardy, Michael Caine, Anne Hathaway, and Morgan Freeman wow this is going to be GOOD! did i just leave the cat out of the bag haha i think i did.
Catwoman is lame… she just is. I don’t care if Nolan is directing or not… it’s just a lame concept. Dumb.
Dude…
Shut the f… up!
Anne Hathaway as Catwoman?? why is Nolan sinking the film before frame one of the movie is even filmed? Wow!! How many women were tested? How many were names? Why not take a chance on someone not as famous? Did Christopher Nolan not see Get Smart? Wow!!
Wow, your choice for judgment is somehow laughable. Anne has playing many notable movies before (Brokeback Mountain, Devils wear Prada, Becoming Jane, Rachel getting married, Loves and Other Drugs etc…) and yet you pick Get Smart as her tentpole? why not pick the Princess Diaries while you’re at it.
the rumor is that there are two female leads in Dark Knight Rises… Hathaway is Selina Kyle… so maybe we will still get Talia al Ghul… please let it be Eva Green
I was hoping for Dr. Strange.
do you mean hugo strange the batman villain or Dr.Strange the Sorceror supreme the MARVEL character?
Actually, Dr. Strange is a Marvel character, but Dr. HUGO Strange is a DC character.
Same… I’ll hold out hope that maybe they’ll still work him in.
Anne Hathaway? That is by far the worst choice anyone could have EVER made for this role. This is like… Gerorge Clooney being Bruce Wayne. Shs versatile in her given area, which is soft silly girlish mello-drama. She does NOT have what it takes to be the calculated psychopathic criminal Catwoman. Oh, and Bane wasnt Cuban. He was like… I wanna say Nicaraguan. Still I agree this is not a role that ought to have gone to Chris Nolan. But then again, Bane is always undercut and underappreciated. He didnt just break Batman, he outsmarts him, figures out Bruce Wayne, out maneuvers, out thinks and out strategizes him. Every single time. Is it too much to ask of America that we allow them to see a brown man do all this to a rich white autocrat whose daddy issues translated into vigilante superheroism?
I wouldn’t saying Bane is Nicaraguan either, he is a Carribean!
Hey Rick…
Why don’t you and everyone else stop be such dicks. Seriously…give Nolan and Anne a fair chance.
I’m not a Catwoman or Bane fan either. But Nolan did so well making Ras Al Ghul and Scarecrow into interesting villains – that I’m fine no matter what characters he chooses. Hell, if Nolan was making a GoBots movie – I know he’d transcend the source material.
I don’t usually comment on this blog, but I absolutely love the GoBots comment!
You’re right, he’s a master at MALE casting for these franchise movies, but I believe he deliberately does boring milktoast for the female roles. He doesn’t want to shift focus off, the GUYS. Casting choices such as Katie Holmes, and Anne Hathaway INSURE no one cares about their character. Ditto Maggie Gyllenhal in the last Batman. When she blew up, there wasn’t a wet eye in the house.
excuse me hathaway can be everything but less sexy, she’s not a female fatale, it’s not her nature and cat woman is
eva green could be much much better
and bane mmm i can see hardy beign bane but i don’t like the character that much
but i have faith in nola
“she’s not a female [sic] fatale”
Do yourself a favor and stream “Get Smart”. She’s an amazing FEMME fatale.
Hathaway is a Try-Hard Femme Female at best. But I can’t get past on her goofyness no matte how sexy is her outfits. She’s like a funnyless Sarah Silverman.
Eva Green would have fit better in Catwoman’s suit.
I’m calling it now. Just going off a hunch…
Batman is going to die. The people of Gotham will rise up and take a stand for what Batman believed in. Hence the title… “The Dark Knight Rises”.
I think that is a very poor choice in casting. This will surely be the lowest grossing film in the trilogy and will not meet expectations. Catwoman was done extremely well by Michelle and Anne will not be able to carry the role. Bane and Catwoman are bad choices and I feel that Nolan has finally fallen off the franchise…
I guess im not watching this movie seeing as I think both the title and now the casting sucks. I cant stand anne hathaway’s “acting” and honestly I was hoping to never see her in another movie ever again. That said she isn’t the only “actress” who annoys me and who I wish would just vanish.
Seeing as you’ve taken the time to post a comment on a website regarding The Dark Knight Rises, I’m going to call Bravo Sierra on you’re “not watching this movie.”
In fact, you’ll be there opening weekend.
It’s a little curious to me that they never say she’s playing Catwoman, just Selina Kyle…
Selina Kyle IS Catwoman. Nolan may not delve into that side of Selina’s personality, but they ARE the same person in the comics. If the intent is merely for Hathaway to play the mousy Kyle persona, then fine, but having her be Catwoman is a disaster in the making. When someone as sexy as Halle Berry can’t pull off Catwoman – how in the hell could dull, boring, little rube Annie Hathaway? Bleh!
Also, for casting like this, I believe an offscreen persona for this kind of femme fatale is even more crucial. If your character is a mousey little clerk who becomes a femme fatale capable of intimidating batman, and outsmarting him, you do NOT cast a woman who ONLY the mousey down pat, and whose biggest bit of press, was that she was outsmarted and duped by some two-bit conman from Italy. It should have been someone just as fierce in real life as catwoman is. Or at least someone we could imagine being that way.
well, having read your comment, unfortunately Angelina Jolie’s schedule is off the chart, so, she is out of question.
Wow YES! Personally I would have loved to see Winona Ryder play Catwoman especially after her scene-stealing performance in Black Swan but Anne is cool too! Selina Kyle is the most charismatic female character in comic books ever! And then there is the immensely talented Tom Hardy playing Bane who is one of the Batman’s most lethal enemies. The next chapter in this excellent saga sure promises to be something refreshing and awesome (in the purest sense of the word)! Well done Nolan, once again!
Funny how the negative comments here are from people with no track record on making a movie, particularly one that has grossed almost a billion dollars. How about everyone chilling out and wait for the movie to come out? You know its going to rock and do a kazillion dollars of business worldwide.
Ha, you beat me to it. These people commenting on how poor Nolan’s casting choices were would be like me walking into a major league stadium and telling everyone how bad they are at baseball, and then show them everything I learned in T-ball.
As a long time fan of Batman as well as Catwoman, I think this has potential. Nolan has not disappointed, so far. Hathaway is an excellent actress, and has the potential to (given she does learn enough about Catwoman in the right time period, as well as train so that she can pull off some of the stunts), in my opinion, out do the performance that Ledger had as Joker.
HOWEVER, I am very disappointed with Tom Hardy, as the choice for Bane. As an actor, I can see him as a possible, but he is going to have to build himself up a bit. Looks too scrawny, in my opinion.
Are you BANANAS? have you seen him in Bronson? In Rock n’ Rolla? Layer cake? He’s built like a brick shithouse. Come on, you have no idea what you’re talking about clearly.
He bulked up alot for Bronson and really pulled it off. It’s probably the only reason I’m not offended that he’s white.
Hammy Hathaway doesn’t have half the acting chops Ledger had. And she isn’t sexy at all, she looks too goofy.
Nolan has disappointed on multiple occasions…
1. Katie Holmes was a terrible casting choice in Batman Begins.
2. Maggie Gyllenhaal was miscast as well but at least she’s an actress.
3. The Darknight Rises? Terrible name…What was the previous movie title, The Darknight Falls? lol. I would have preferred The Caped Crusader!
4. Catwoman, I mean come on already! It’s been done and it’s cliche.
5. Inception: The most overrated movie of all time because of 2 things…Chris Nolan directed it and Leonardo Dicaprio was in it.
6. Tom Hardy…let’s face it, he’s a one dimensional actor.
7. Aaron Eckhart! Dude, go back to silly romantic comedies you softie! Terrible casting choice.
8. Two-Face: Poor concept of character from design to execution in The Dark Knight…they visualized him all wrong and missed the mark.
Even with that said, Batman Begins was very good and The Dark Knight was awesome! But they had their flaws. All you Chris Nolan suckups would probably tell him after he punched you in the face that it felt good! lol
1. Agreed, but was replaced in TDK.
2. Better actress brought in to kill the character off with something resembling pathos.
3. Title insinuates that this is a direct follow on/pairing with TDK, and furthermore leaves option for The Dark Knight Returns. Would you have prefered CHRISTOPHER NOLAN’S “Batman 3″?
4. Scarecrow’s been done before and Nolan’s take on the character fit the storyline in not one but TWO movies. Obviously Catwoman is to be of consequence somehow, if only a plotpoint.
5. Only ovverated because people thought it was more complex than it was. Still an excellent and imaginatively realised heist film.
6. Tom Hardy has charisma, stature and intelligence. Bane requires all three.
7. Did you even SEE “Thankyou For Smoking”?
8. Two-Face took the place of Commissioner Gordon in “The Killing Joke” – someone who was supposed to be incorruptible brought to their knees by one day of personal tragedy. The face of what Batman would be if he followed the System. The other side of the coin.
The weakest parts of each movie were when we suddenly saw Gothamites coping with moral choices with no background to them as individuals (eg. 3rd act of TDK).
People are getting awful antsy over a film being made by one of the most established, capable filmmakers of this generation. It’ll be fine.
Yeesh.
You call Scarecrow’s 2 minutes of screen time in TDK enough to justify that statement? LOL…okay.
The Catwoman will get The Dark Knight to rise all right…lol
Not that catwoman. Though we might see a yawn or two.
Have to say Hathaway looks a bit goofy for the part. I just don’t see it. Selina Kyle has a sultry allure which, to me, Hathaway just does NOT exude.
Yet I trust Nolan’s genius. He’s the maestro. Maybe he will coax from her the performance of her career.
That’s what I’m thinking. Look what he did with Heath right?
Ledger was a much better actor, Hathaway is mediocre.
Yeah right…look what he did with Katie Holmes and Anthony Michael Hall! lol…those 2 stunk it up!
Like he coaxed Katie Holmes?
I would have much preferred to see Rachel Weisz in a catsuit.
How about Blake Lively in a catsuit?
please not her…..
Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Jean-Paul Valley/Azrael would be EPIC. Make it happen.
Although Anne Hathaway is a great actress, I feel someone else would do better in the role. Of the ones rumored I would to have liked to have seen Rachel Weisz.
i thought bane was w poison ivy not catwoman ? wtf
Bane never been w/ Poison ivy, only in that abomination of movie i dare you to name it!
I’m shocked. I didn’t even consider her for the role actually. By God this will be interesting. I’d have preferred Knightly to be honest.
Everyone was questioning the choice of Heath Ledger as The Joker and we all know how that turned out. Not sure how I feel about Catwoman, and I feel Anne Hathaway may be a bit too young for Bale. But I trust Nolan knows what he’s doing. This movie will be great.
too young? Isn’t she 30? Is Bale even 40 yet? What are you talking about? lol
A big step up from the Vultress(thank God they never made that 4th Spider-Man).
I was looking forward to the villain being Dr. Hugo Strange as reported earlier, but I trust Nolan.
She was said to play Black Cat, not Vultress, no?
Thank God it isn’t Angelina Jolie.
Why? No Oscar winners allowed? shut up jen, you loser. lol. Apparently you didn’t see Salt, and you also are blind. She would have rocked Catwoman like never before. inspired casting. But she has other things on her plate. Naomi would have been superb as well, I see she was in the group considered.
It’s hilarious that any mention of Angelina some genius has to bring up Jenn, is that the only thing she makes you think of? If so maybe you should move 6 years ahead like the rest of us have. (For the record I think Aniston is a horrible actress, but is that relevant at all? Noooo).
My problem with Angelina is that she seems capable of portraying only one character in her films. Sure I saw Salt, but I also saw Tomb Raider, Alexander, Beowulf, Wanted, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Taking Lives, and The Tourist. Same character! The only film that showed me she can play more than one character was Changeling and A Mighty Heart.
Anne Hathaway has a variety of different roles on her resume and because of that she will vanish into the character just like the other cast members will. She is a very dynamic actress with an interesting look and amazing talent.
You forgot the movie “Hackers”
Yeah, well Angelina has an Oscar, and multiple Oscar nods. So I don’t think you’re opinion matters. Oh, and don’t look now, but you just admitted that Changeling and A Mighty Heart actually disproves your initial slam. So if you admit she’s capable, then what are you talking about again? By the way, please explain how Grendel’s mother is like Lara Croft is like Jane Smith is like Gia again, you idiot. LOL
I agree with you COMPLETELY!