I feel compelled to pass this along in the midst of the usual Oscar talk because, well, you know me.
I looks like Anne Hathaway has been confirmed for the role of Selina Kyle (aka Catwoman) in Christopher Nolan’s final Batman chapter, “The Dark Knight Rises.” Tom Hardy, meanwhile, who was cast in an unnamed role a few months back, has been confirmed for the role of Bane.
Yep, “Batman Returns” and “Batman & Robin” in one movie, despite a bevy of villains that could have been much more intriguing in this new direction the character has taken. On top of which, as much as I love Hathaway, I don’t like her for Kyle. At all. But you know what they say about opinions…
Anyway, on Hardy (who was speculated for the role of Dr. Hugo Strange in a take on the “Prey” storyline), I’m equal parts intrigued and disappointed by the character choice. Bane was infamously misused in Joel Schumacher’s 1997 craptastic vision, but if you’re looking to close out your trilogy (and three is as far as Nolan ever planned to take it), Bane is a nice character to use — if you’re faithful.
Bane, of course, first appeared in the lead-up to the major “Knightfall” storyline of 1993. The character was an orphan born and raised in a Central America prison who underwent an operation to transform him into a supersoldier. He therefore juices on a substance called “venom,” which turns him into a hulking Blanka-like beast. Enough 90s references for you?
Anyway, Bane frees all of the Arkham Asylum inmates, which Batman naturally tracks down one by one, exhausting him over a six-month period. Just when our hero is at his weakest, Bane strikes and, in a moment that made the DC sky seem like it was falling just half a year after Superman had “died” at the hands of Doomsday, he breaks the Dark Knight’s back right over his knee.
Yeah, we got none of that in Schumacher’s take. Just some comic relief. So let’s hope we get more, and some psychological torment to boot, from Nolan this time around. And there’s much more to that story, too, so who knows what other aspects may be utilized, or how Catwoman will be brought into that folkd? Meanwhile, one unique and interesting characterization of Bane as of late was in the video game “Batman: Arkham Asylum.” I’d love to see that play out in a film.
Anyway, grist for the mill. Back to our regularly scheduled Oscar programming.
[Photo: DC Comics]
Comments
77 responses to “Hathaway set for Catwoman in ‘Dark Knight Rises,’ Hardy confirmed as Bane”
Hathaway is such an uninspired choice.
Come on, Anne’s gonna look HOT in the cat suit.
And ever since Inception, I’m lovin’ Hardy in anything.
Fine choices, says I.
I’m surprised at the cybersphere’s ambivalence at Hathaway. It’s going to become a cliche cry, but we all know how Ledger turned out. If there’s one thing Nolan knows how to do, it’s cast.
I’m happily optimistic for now.
(The one thing I wish would change is that title. THAT’S uninspired.)
Anne doesn’t seem the right choice for me either.
or is it just because I can only think of Michelle?!!!
even so, I think I’ve always prefered Poison Ivy and Uma had just the right image for the role and I believe she could’ve done a great job with a better director and a decent screenplay.
Not crazy about Hathaway (not bummed either), but I knew Catwoman was gonna be in it! Couldn’t be happier, especially if she’s appropriately butch.
I’m not very keen on Catwoman, but Nolan is someone who knows what he’s doing. I give him the benefit of the doubt and let’s see what happens next year.
Come on, let’s give Anne and Tom a chance. Think that before playing The Joker, Heath Ledger was in 10 Things I Hate About You, A Knight’s Tale and Casanova, of all things!
If that couple makes enough sense in Nolan’s head as Ledged did back then, then let’s have faith in ‘Rises’.
I’ve been wondering lately is that if Inception doesn’t score anything for Nolan, could ‘Rises’ be a Oscar frontrunner if it’s just as good or better than TDK was, or the comic book movies bias’s still around? … I’d like to think that after Avatar there’s not so much ground for ‘bias’ in any specific genre.
With mixed casting, it is also worth recalling katie h. & ellen page.
I wanna ignore Batman and thank you for the Street Fighter reference. not enough of those in my life
The only reason I’m disappointed with Hathaway is because her last film didn’t show the best of her. Everyone doubted Heath Ledger when he was cast, raving about how they thought his Joker would be a soft and bumbling lunatic. I’m not going to spew disappointment at Hathaway when we know that she could, and probably will, turn in a fantastic performance.
@DarkLayers- I’ll give you Katie Holmes, his ONE mistake, but I don’t get the hate for Ellen Page. She was just fine.
I think Anne is an interesting choice, and I’m excited to see how that plays out.
“If there’s one thing Nolan knows how to do, it’s cast.”
If you are talking about men then yes but women, not so much. (Ellen Page, Scarlett J and Katie Holmes).
Everybody was so pessimistic about Ledger too, and looked how that turned out.
In the end everybody will be shocked and she’ll win an Oscar.
Hathaway is so vanilla. There are so many great young actresses in Hollywood and around the world. Why Hathaway?
But I’m most interested in Tom Hardy’s character. The guy has charisma to burn and will just completely act Christian Bale off the screen.
But for the multitudes of fans, let the hysteria begin! For the next few days I will have to look and step around the internet lest I fall into some orgy of fanaticism.
I would have liked Marion Cotillard — or even Angelina Jolie — in the Catwoman role. Come on, someone seductive, with gravitas. I generally like Hathaway, but isn’t she always a bit “jazzhands”?
Let’s not say everyone was pessimistic about Ledger. The guy had already given a stellar leading performance a few years prior and had shown he had the talent to hit the right notes for the Joker.
The Joker is also one of the great fictional villains. Catwoman is just naturally corny. It worked in Batman Returns because the character fit Burton’s comic-like style but she seems out of place for Nolan’s more authentic real world vision.
I don’t get the hate for Ellen Page in Inception. If anything, her character was poorly written.
How about we hear about a script, see an image, wait for a trailer before we go judging about how she’s going to do in a movie we know nothing about…
Hardy is going to be great. Seeing Bronson, he knows how to play those big, meaty guys. And Bane has always intrigued me, and I think he’ll be a great villain.
Catwoman could be a hit or miss. The character has been a little overused, but I bet Nolan will bring a fresh take on it, like he has done with everything else. I think Hathaway will do fine. Like everyone else has said, Ledger got a lot of flak when he was casted.
Everyone getting up in arms about someone having an opinion about a casting decision: CHILL.
I do remember that I heard Marion Cotillard was rumored to be Catwoman. I would have LOVED to have seen that.
My dad still refers to Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman instead of her actual name. I believe he will be skipping this one.
“I wanna ignore Batman and thank you for the Street Fighter reference. not enough of those in my life.”
+1. Ditto. And can I just say, that Street Fighter: The Movie is absolutely 100% everything a Street Fighter movie should be?
People, even fans of the game like to critisize it and pretend they are embarassed for it, while I have only one question: what the heck did you guys expect it t be?
Second only to the first Mortal Kombat as the best video game movie ever made.
Hathaway is a better choice for Catwoman than Cottilard, imo.
Oh and since they got her as vilain, hope there’s like nud1ty in this film. Not because of her specifically and not for its own sake, just fits my picture of how it could go.
One more thing, not every decision Schumaker has made in his Batman films was bad. In fact, Batman Forever is a pretty great 90s-style batman film. And Batman and Robin is not as bad as people say, either.
“don’t get the hate for Ellen Page in Inception.”
Honestly? Her is one of the top two performances in the movie. Take it to the bank.
Well, Baftas did put Page on their longlist for Inception.
Ledger in Brokeback Mountain>>>Hathaway in Rachel Getting Married.
Oh come on, Kris, did you really expect there to be muted reactions to Batman casting news? I’ll bet you it’s very reasonable here compared to the rest of the internet.
Is it wrong for me to rather have Batman fight Tom Hardy as Bronson instead of Tom Hardy as Bane? Whatever, he’ll be great.
I’m willing to give Hathaway a chance, too. She looks a little too…”sunny” for the part, but she’s a terrific actress (Rachel Getting Married, anyone?) and Heath Ledger wasn’t exactly the most obvious choice for The Joker.
Not too crazy about this, but I trust in Nolan.
OT: “What Doesn’t Kill You”? Was that in theaters? I like the leads, but I don’t remember ever hearing about it. Is it any good? I think it’s the first non-awards related movie ad I’ve seen on this site, especially at this time of year.
@j- Yes, Ledger was better than Hathaway in their respective Oscar nominated roles. Now how does that matter exactly?
@Mitchell- I don’t get that ad. ‘What Doesn’t Kill You’ came out like 2 years ago.
^AND it’s been on blu-ray/DVD for over a year. So… ?
Is he going to wear that stupid costume?
I know an actress who would have made a terrific Catwoman: Mia Kirshner. At one point in time she was considered for the role of Louis Lane, but this – this would have been even better.
“And Batman and Robin is not as bad as people say, either.”
Yes it most certainly is.
Hardy will do fine as Bane (anyone who has doubts, of which I feel there will be very few, can look to his work in “Bronson” for proof that he can nail this character). I’m intrigued by the casting of Hathaway…if we’re going for the “traditional” view of Catwoman, then no, I don’t think she would have been the optimal choice. But I have a feeling Nolan’s characterization of Catowoman may be a bit different from what we are used to, so she may fit perfectly in his world. We’ll see…all I know is that no matter WHAT happens I’ll be there opening night :)
Andrej: “Come on, let’s give Anne and Tom a chance. Think that before playing The Joker, Heath Ledger was in 10 Things I Hate About You, A Knight’s Tale and Casanova, of all things!
If that couple makes enough sense in Nolan’s head as Ledged did back then, then let’s have faith in ‘Rises’.”
I agree!
Nah, It’s too mediocre for that.
Also, I’m partial to Arnold’s Mr. Freeze, I can’t help it. It fits my view of it being a live action cartoon.
Sigh. And I thought we could’ve gotten the stars of American Psycho together for this film with Mila Kunis in the role. I’m only half-kidding.
I’m okay with Hathaway in the role, but a lot of people are already being weirdly defensive. I don’t think people are questioning her acting abilities, but more if she’s “right” for the part. I mean Meryl Streep is Meryl Streep, but you wouldn’t want her to play Batman… or would we? Hm…
Catwoman is not necessarily “corny.” Pfeiffer was great as a corny version of the character that I personally thought was poorly and misguidedly conceived–blonde (!), neurotic, a mouse-that-roared–much like Nicholson’s Joker was nothing more than Jack in whiteface. If Nolan follows any of the contemporary Catwoman templates (like Mindy Newell’s take) and not the campy earlier versions, the character can be much more interesting than the cliché “exotic femme fatale” Talia or the ridiculous Poison Ivy. I can’t wait for Nolan and Hathaway to do with Catwoman what he and Ledger did with the Joker.
I’m oddly excited about Hathaway being cast, despite the fact that I don’t necessarily see her fitting the role. I was hoping to see Catwoman in the film so I guess a part of my excitement stems from the inclusion of the character – or is it just her alter-ego we’ll be seeing? At the very least I give Nolan props for not going with a more obvious choice for the role, but I may be the only one who see’s it that way.
” I mean Meryl Streep is Meryl Streep, but you wouldn’t want her to play Batman… or would we?”
The funny thing is, Streep could probably not only play Batman – she could also play Bale play Batman and do a better job at it.
If I was making a Batman film, I’d have an older Catwoman as a villain and I would cast Helen Mirren.
How’s that for fet1shistic?
Also, isn’t there another female role being cast? Anyone know anything about that?
Did anyone see that episode of Modern Family where Cam says that Meryl Streep could play Batman? That is so funny.
There is still another female role being cast. Seeing as Hardy is Bane my guess (which was my guess before we got the Bane confirmation) is Talia al Ghul. She’s the daughter of Batman Begins’s villain to bring the trilogy full circle and she has ties with Bane as well as Selina Kyle.
Hathaway is a good actress and sexy as all hell. This will work.
RyanT: “I mean Meryl Streep is Meryl Streep, but you wouldn’t want her to play Batman… or would we? Hm…”
“Excuse me. Meryl Streep COULD play Batman and she’d be right for the role.” -Cameron
So does this mean that Watts will still be playing Vale, or the new D.A.?
I bet Bill Ramey is jumping for joy though, I know he was real big on Catwoman being in the film. In Nolan I trust, Bane can be bad-ass given the right script.
So, were Spider-Man and Catwoman separated at birth?
Excited at today’s news but like others, I’m not sure on Hathaway. As someone else said, she seems a bit “sunny” for the role whereas a Rachel Weisz or Eva Green might have been easier to see. I’m sure she’ll be great- I’m just having a hard time getting my mind out of the comic book version of Catwoman.
Hardy is a great Bane. The rumored Hugo Strange would have been interesting, too, but I am curious to see how Nolan incorporates Bane. Will his character have a backstory or will he just “exist” like the Joker. It seems unlikely that Bane would just be hired muscle for the mob as that seems too cliche for Nolan and unbefitting of Hardy’s rising star.
Either way, it’s exciting to finally have news. I wonder if the rumors pertaining to a second female role (Naomi Watts?) are true- perhaps we’ll have more casting announcements later.
And, as Kris said, “Batman and Robin” was most definitely as bad as it was made out to be. Worse, actually.
Deadshot, Hush, Clayface, or Huge Strange would have all been far more interesting characters for Hardy to play than Bane.
While we haven’t read the screenplay or know which other characters are showing up, on the surface Catwoman/Bane seem like a huge step down from Joker/Two Face.
I like Mila Kunis as Catwoman — give her turn in Black Swan.
Tyler says, “Hathaway is a good actress and sexy as all hell. This will work”.
I say “could”.