Anne Hathaway Briefly Talks ‘CATWOMAN’ Spin-Off
While I might one of the few people who have yet to see The Dark Knight Rises it sounds like Anne Hathaway’s performance as Catwoman was a rather large standout. DigitalSpy asked Anne about the possiblity of a spin-off which doesn’t seem that unlikely now that Christopher Nolan is now exiting the franchise. Nolan has somewhat left the door open to act as a producer on future Batman projects (similar to Man of Steel) which could lead to a Catwoman movie.
“If [Nolan] is interested then I’m very interested. I think it would be lovely to see more of her but only if it’s with the right people,” Hathaway said. “She lives in this Gotham City and so it would have to be established by the people who have made this Gotham City. For me, at least.”
David Goyer Confirms The Studio Wanted DiCaprio To Play The Riddler In ‘DARK KNIGHT RISES’
Here’s a bit of interesting insight into the behind the scenes process of making The Dark Knight Rises as screenwriter David S. Goyer talks to Empire via BatmanNews. David reveals that studio executives at Warner Bros. were already talking about a sequel at The Dark Knight premiere. The studio wanted Leonardo DiCaprio play a Nolanized version of The Riddler in the next film. Of course this didn’t happen but it’s another fun “what-if?” moment from the franchise.
“it’s gonna be The Riddler, and we want it to be Leonardo DiCaprio…”.
It confirms previous reports that Inception co-stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Tom Hardy and DiCaprio had been competing for the Riddler. Not to mention strings of casting rumors linked to the role. Nolan might have tried to fit him into early drafts only to give him the axe and make way for Bane. In the early days of Rises’ development Michael Caine and Gary Oldman had teased on red carpets the Riddler would be the villain which might have come from studio people not Nolan.
You never know what the future of Batman holds. If Nolanites want this franchise to keep going it would be in good hands with someone like Wally Pfister taking over directing duties from Nolan. Bale has stated that if Nolan handed him a script he’d love to make another film just for the challenge. I’d love to see Jonah and Chris stay on as writers while continuing to work on their original projects as well.
Christian Bale Open To Making ‘BATMAN 4’ ?
Christopher Nolan has stated The Dark Knight Rises will be his last Batman film but will be the last one for Christian Bale? Bale gives the impression to Empire that he’s keeping an open mind on coming back if the right elements are in place. Those just happen to be a great script which would likely have to come from the Nolan camp.
“My understanding is that this is the last one. I think it’s appropriate, I think it’s going out at the right time. But…if Chris came to me with a script and said, ‘You know what? There is another story’ then I would love the challenge of making a fourth one work.”
While Christopher is indeed stepping away from the director’s chair he never said he’d stop writing the films with his brother Jonathan. If Nolan hand-picks the new director it could be worth making if the same team minus Chris came back. It’s very rare that a third installment in a franchise eclipses the first two films is if does there will be a massive demand from audiences and Warner Bros. for one movie. Bale is right, it would be a rather large uphill battle to make a fourth film just as good or even better.
Ben Mendelsohn Revealed In New ‘DARK KNIGHT RISES’ Trailer
It looks like we have yet another stunning surprise from Christopher Nolan as Aussie actor Ben Mendelsohn appears in the new Dark Knight Rises trailer. It hadn’t been reported he even was apart of the cast. We should expect a large number of these sort of cameos popping up. Since I’m sure a lot of these cameos were done as a favor to Nolan or actors just wanted to be involved in the final film. During the screening of the opening scene it was also revealed that Irish actor Adian Gillen best known for series like The Wire and Game of Thrones would have a small part as a CIA agent.
Talia al Ghul Confirmed For Dark Knight Rises
Ever since the early days of actresses test screening for roles in The Dark Knight Rises blogs and trades were reporting one of the roles was that of Talia al Ghul. The daughter of Batman Begins villain Ras’ al Ghul played by Liam Neeson. Josh Pence had been cast in the new film as a young Ras’, who eventually becomes the leader of the vigilante cult The League of Shadows which trained Bruce.
When actress Joey King was cast fans begin to speculate what her role was. Some pointed towards a very young Talia. Joey has revealed to MyEntertainmentWorld (via DigitalSpy) that she is indeed playing Talia in the film. This is the first confirmation by anyone with the production that the character is involved. It’s expected King’s scenes would be with Pence explaining the League’s origins and perhaps even Bane’s.
It leads me to believe that in fact Marion Cotillard is playing an older Talia in the film. Considering from the image above Joey looks more similar to Marion than say Anne Hathaway or even Juno Temple. When Marion joined the cast her role seemed the most mysterious of the bunch as Miranda Tate. The Wayne Corp. executive just happened to be caught on set jumping on top of the tumbler and surrounded by what looked to be Bane’s soldiers. Currently this is all speculation as King might be the only version of Talia in Rises.
Josh Stewart Joins The Dark Knight Rises
ShowBlitz reports Josh Stewart has joined the cast of The Dark Knight Rises which is currently in production. His role is unknown but it’s likely it would be a small supporting part. He joins newcomers Tom Hardy, Anne Hathaway, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Josh Pence, Marion Cotillard, Matthew Modine, Tom Conti, Juno Temple, Alon Aboutboul, Joey King, Brett Cullen, Chris Ellis, Daniel Sunjata, Diego Klattenhoff and Burn Gorman.
Dark Knight Rises Viral Videos Kicking Off New Viral Game?
TheFireRises has been the official Twitter page for the Dark Knight Rises for a week or so. They slowly helped reveal the first image of Bane and apparently have a YouTube account as well. While it’s still early it’s expected these could be tidbits to start another massive viral campaign. Similar to the “Why So Serious?” viral game that was created for The Dark Knight.
The videos below give us the first clue that points to an outbreak (viral or fear toxin?) and a breakout at Arkham Asylum. Of course these sort of story elements would be seen in a trailer so it’s not a solid spoiler. You never know these also could be distractions but it does seem there are glimpses of real footage in there. Yet I believe the footage with Michael Anthony Hall is just re-hashed from Dark Knight. I did however notice what could be Bane rising his arm in the Outbreak video.
Child Actress Joey King Lands Roles In Dark Knight Rises & Oz, The Great & Powerful
ShowBlitz reports that up and coming child actress Joey King (Battle: Los Angeles) has been cast in two rather large films. First she joined The Dark Knight Rises along with new additions Brett Cullen (Apollo 13) and Chris Ellis (Transformers). The role in that film is currently unknown but I wouldn’t count out a young Talia al Ghul or Rachel Dawes. The site also reports that Joey has joined Sam Raimi’s Oz, The Great & Powerful. Playing China Girl, a young girl made of porcelain who the Wizard (Franco) becomes somewhat of a father figure to after an evil witch (Weisz) kills her family. She joins James Franco, Mila Kunis, Michelle Williams and Rachel Weisz.
Matthew Modine Joins The Dark Knight Rises
Variety reports some late additions to The Dark Knight Rises. Matthew Modine (Full Metal Jacket) and Oscar-nominated actor Tom Conti (Reuben, Reuben) have joined the cast. Modine joins a list of 80’s cult actors that Nolan seems to enjoy casting in small supporting roles. He carried the much loved Stanley Kubrick Vietnam film Full Metal Jacket so it will be interesting to see where ends up in the Dark Knight Rises.
The expectational cast already includes Christian Bale, Gary Oldman, Tom Hardy, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Anne Hathaway, Marion Cotillard, Alon Aboutboul, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Nestor Carbonell, Josh Pence, Daniel Sunjata, Burn Gorman, Diego Klattenhoff and Juno Temple.
Josh Pence Joins The Dark Knight Rises
HeatVision reports that Josh Pence who played Tyler Winklevoss (Armie’s face was digital placed on Pence’s body) in The Social Network is set to join the Dark Knight Rises. Josh will play a young Ras’ al Ghul who was played by Liam Neeson in Batman Begins. This is helping fuel previous rumors of Marion Cotillard (Inception) playing his daughter Talia al Ghul. Cotillard confirmed recently she has a summer film set to shoot but couldn’t reveal what it was. Pence joins the thriving new supporting cast of Tom Hardy, Joesph Gordon-Levitt, Anne Hathaway and Juno Temple.
Warner Bros. Rebooting Batman After Dark Knight Rises & Nolan Will Produce
This was expected but it hasn’t been confirmed until now. Warner Bros’ Jeff Robinov confirmed to HeroComplex that after The Dark Knight Rises the studio will reboot the character so that it can be included in a Justice League film. The surprising part is that Christopher Nolan and his wife/partner Emma Thomas will be contributing as producers and I assume also as character consultants. It would fall in line with their involvement with the new Superman reboot. There is no word if Christian Bale will reprise the role in the reboot but it’s very likely to keep the Nolan films seperate they will recast. This could also open the door for Robin and Batgirl to return along with the colorful rouges gallery that could never be in a Nolan film.
“Batman will continue to be a centerpiece property beyond next year’s ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ and Nolan’s departure from the franchise. “We have the third Batman, but then we’ll have to reinvent Batman.” Asked whether that meant he wanted to reinvent or possibly even reboot the character, Robinov answered assertively: “I do. Chris Nolan and [producing partner and wife] Emma Thomas will be producing it, so it will be a conversation with them about what the next phase is.”
Treat Williams Could Join The Dark Knight Rises
Treat Williams (Once Upon A Time In America, 127 Hours) very well could be joining The Dark Knight Rises. He talked to ZapIt2 confirming he has been in talks but it could conflict with another project. Yet he very well could end up be in the film in the end. It’s not uncommon for Nolan to hire older film icons for his films Rutger Hauer (Batman Begins), Eric Roberts (Dark Knight) and Tom Berenger (Inception) were previously cast in supporting roles.
Joesph Gordon-Levitt Confirmed For Dark Knight Rises, Juno Temple Could Also Join
Variety confirms that Joesph Gordon-Levitt (Inception) has been cast in The Dark Knight Rises. His role is unknown at this point but it’s been hinted he could be either an ally or enemy of Batman. They also add that Juno Temple (Atonement) is in talks for a supporting role of a street smart Gotham girl. Temple had previously been in the running for the lead in Bryan Singer’s Jack The Giant Killer.
Marion Cotillard In Talks To Join Dark Knight Rises
HollywoodReporter confirms the rumor that actress Marion Cotillard is in talks to join The Dark Knight Rises in a unknown role. Many believe it’s Talia al Ghul the daughter of the villain Ra’s al Ghul. Yet if the film is taking influences from The Long Halloween I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s playing Sofia Falcone the daughter of the Gotham Ctiy mobster Carmine Falcone last scene in Batman Begins.
RUNDOWN OF PREVIOUS CASTING ANNOUNCEMENTS/RUMORS:
It would fit perfectly with the rumor that Joseph Gordon-Levitt (currently also in talks) is playing Alberto Falcone who is also the Holiday Killer. The recent New York pickup shots of a snowy Manhattan suggests that the Holiday Killer is likely involved. Now that Sal Maroni is dead it would seem likely someone else would have to run Falcone’s crime family. Yet I wouldn’t rule out JGL playing Black Mask or Harvey Bullock.
The Falcone family would also fit nicely with Selina Kyle’s story as in the comics she’s the illegitimate daughter of Carmine Falcone and tries to find a place in the crime family. I’d personally rather see Kyle as a power player in the mob instead of a costumed thief. I still think Nolan’s Batman films work because Wayne is the only one in such an elaborate costume.
I’m not sure how Tom Hardy’s Bane would fit into this but would make an excellent partner to whoever Joseph is playing. As the pair were amazing together in Inception. If Talia is indeed involved I wouldn’t rule out Bane being a member of the League of Shadows.
There is also still hope that Robin Williams could take on the role of Hugo Strange. I think it would the right amount of villains compared to the other movies and Nolan is perfectly comfortable with sizable casts/characters in his films. Strange could make an excellent side villain similar to Dr. Crane in Batman Begins.
Anne Hathaway Is Catwoman & Tom Hardy Is Bane In Dark Knight Rises
Warner Bros. has sent out the official press release that Anne Hathaway has joined The Dark Knight Rises. Anne will play Selina Kyle the sleek thief that is also known as Catwoman. Also in the press release they announce that Tom Hardy will play the villain Bane. It will be interesting to see which versions of the characters will be in the film. Knowing Christopher Nolan’s love for large casts I believe we could be seeing more characters and actors announced in the coming weeks.
We’ve seen some supernatural elements involved with Catwoman’s origin in Batman Returns. Yet I expect we’ll see Selina Kyle as more of a regular love interest and possible ally of Batman. On the other hand Kyle could also end up playing both sides playing both lover and enemy.
It should be a redemption for the character of Bane since he’s been portrayed as mindless muscle bound brute. This goes against the original character who is brilliant and also plays both sides. Even working alongside Batman on a few occasions.
What Do You Think Of The Addition Of Anne Hathaway As Catwoman? What About Bane? Should He Be The Only Villain? Who Else Should Be In The Film? Leave Your Comments!
Have Eva Green & Naomi Watts Joined The Dark Knight Rises?
Marion Cotillard and Natalie Portman rumored to be in the running for roles in The Dark Knight Rises announced pregnancies. Knocking the two actresses out of the running. Now there is word from Collider that Eva Green (Casino Royale, Kingdom of Heaven) and Naomi Watts (King Kong, Eastern Promises) have been cast as Vicki Vale and Talia al Ghul but it’s unknown who is playing who. The site is running this as a rumor at this point but seems possible as casting should be underway for it’s May production start.
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