The first major bit of casting news and possible storyline hints have been divulged about the next Christopher Nolan Batman movie, which is entitled 'The Dark Knight Rises" and will hit theaters July 20, 2012.First, a little while ago we were told that Tom Hardy, who Nolan worked with on 'Inception,' would be a villain in the next film, and now we get this bomb as the much more well-known Anne Hathaway has signed on to play Selina Kyle in the next movie.
Fanboy's and message boards are blowing up about how they dislike Hathaway as Catwoman, how she can never be better than Michelle Pfeifer, and that this will make the movie 'lame.' My thoughts on all that in a moment. It was in the same press release from Warner Bros. that talked about Hathaway they noted that Hardy will be playing the role of Bane in the film. People are teeing off on this as well stating that Bane is a stupid villain, he was poorly done in 'Batman & Robin' and Tom Hardy doesn't do much for them. I can't help you with that very last point, but I have some thoughts.
First, if you read the press release from Warner Bros. it is quite clearly stated that Anne Hathaway has been tapped to play the role of Selina Kyle, and has no mention of Catwoman. I think the people who are crying that Hathaway is not right for Catwoman can pump the brakes for a bit. Some comic book storylines have had Kyle related to Carmine Falcone (the mob boss from 'Batman Begins') and Kyle has played the role of a love interest for Bruce Wayne. It is my feeling that Catwoman won't be in this movie very much if at all, rather, Kyle will be there for the Falcone angle as well as a possible love interest for Wayne now that Rachel Dawes is no longer a character.
Next, I will have to address the slotting of Bane as the next villain. Bane was absolutely, horrendously handled in the 'Batman & Robin,' that I agree with, but I thought we had laid that film to rest. Bane from the comic books and cartoon series was always one of the better villains. He was an extremely intelligent and smart villain, who only used his super strength to help his machinations, not necessarily just to cause havoc. Bane is one of the few villains with the ability to match wits with Batman and I for one like the choice.
It is also pertinent to mention that I don't necessarily know if Bane will be the main villain. Nolan is usually pretty secretive about his movies and it seems strange to me that he would let out this info more than a year and a half before the film is set to be released. Now I know that it will start filming soon so maybe I'm reading too much into this but I know that there could be another villain involved or possibly something altogether entirely. Either way, I'm excited for the next installment. I have complete and utter trust in Nolan that it will kick no less @$$ than the last one.
I agree with this post in its entirety. I also thought everyone jumped the gun assuming that just because Hathaway was cast as Kyle that she would be playing Catwoman in the next movie. Even if she does leather-up in the upcoming movie (or perhaps the 4th installment?) I think Hathaway is a talented actress and could probably pull off a good interpretation. I seriously doubted Heath Ledger as the Joker when it was first announced and man, was I wrong. I won't doubt Nolan's casting skills again.
ReplyDeleteI'm also interested in seeing how they pull off Bane. I think it's a good choice of a villain and keeps with the realism theme first adopted in Batman Begins (ie, a mobster/assassin that juices up on a new form of super-steroids is a bit more believable than Killer Croc or Clayface).
I totally agree. I think it would fit if Hathaway was Selina Kyle for most of the movie and just turned Catwoman at the end, similar to Harvey Dent/Two Face of the last one.
ReplyDeleteEither way, I am excited for it. Bane can be a very good villain if done right and I think he most definitely will be done right by Nolan. Not to mention Hardy is a badass. Although this will probably result in another opportunity for Nolan to make a great movie and be disrespected by the Academy again.