Anne Hathaway has been cast in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises as the legendary femme fatale, Catwoman. Furthermore, Inception actor Tom Hardy, who was confirmed as a cast member some months back, has been officially listed as the main villain of the story, criminal mastermind and drug addict, Bane.
You can read the press release below:
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.
With these announcements, the shape of Nolan’s final entry in his Batman epic is finally becoming clear. Rumors have abounded over the last few weeks as to shape of the story, and nearly all of them have been disproved today. Popular opinion wagered that Halle Berry’s Batman-free Catwoman film had left the studio sour towards the character’s ability to draw an audience, but now it seems that Nolan was always intending to introduce the popular thief character.
Selina Kyle, Catwoman, is one of the oldest characters in Batman’s rogues gallery, and one of the most unique, with her sitting firmly on the line between good and evil without taking sides. She robs people for personal gain, but tends to let her conscience get the better of her from time to time to team up with Batman against the crisis of the day.
Bane made a huge mark on the Batman mythos in the 1990s, when he was featured in the storyline Knightfall in which he deduced Batman’s identity and broke his back in his attempt to conquer Gotham City’s Criminal Underworld. While he was ultimately defeated, the figure has always loomed large in the Batman stories. Bane, a man of honor, respects the threat that Batman represents and in the comics, occasionally joins forces with the hero in moments of need. He previously appeared in the atrocious Batman & Robin, as a mindless brute who grunted behind Poison Ivy without ever taking the spotlight on his own. It seems a safe bet with Hardy’s casting that we will be getting the criminal genius of the comics and not the oaf from Schumacher’s “film.”
Nolan’s all-star cast will continue to unroll in the weeks to come. Nobody should be surprised when a few more unexpected characters pop up. This is the big finale, after all.
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James Tynion IV
James Tynion IV is a writer and editor living in Manhattan who spends his days absorbing any media he can get his hands onto. Special preferences include, but are not limited to Comic Books, Animation, and British Television in general. A graduate of Sarah Lawrence College, ...
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