Rachel Weisz, Naomi Watts, Blake Lively, Natalie Portman, Anne Hathaway & Keira Knightley In The Mix; Tom Hardy Reportedly Playing A Villain
Here we go again. We probably could have broken this story ourselves as every one of these names have cropped up in recent casting rounds, but the most intriguing part of this story are not the names attached, but the revelation that Christopher Nolan is seeking two female leads for “The Dark Knight Rises“: one, a love interest for Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale), the other, for a villain. This really only leaves a few possibilities for the potential foe of Batman (unless Nolan is going really obscure): Catwoman, Poison Ivy or as some of our readers have suggested, Talia al Ghul.
The familiar crop of names from casting roundups for “The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo,” “Gravity” and the “Alien” prequel are in the mix again with Rachel Weisz, Naomi Watts, Blake Lively, Natalie Portman, Anne Hathaway and Keira Knightley all being listed as potential contenders. Whoever is cast will apparently team up with Tom Hardy who Deadline report will also be playing a baddie giving Batman a double dose of villainy. Interestingly, the names of Charlize Theron, Vera Farmiga and Kacie Thomas that cropped up earlier are noticeably absent. They were reportedly vying for the roles of Sarah Essen and Julie Madison but that rumor may have turned out to be total bunk.
The multiple villain tactic in superhero films is always a gambit but if anyone can pull it off without watering down the film or thinning out the plot, it’s Nolan. Of course, we’ve had our own thoughts on the who the male villain should be given that all that we do know, it’s not going to be the Riddler. We suppose this means more casting rumors and names being thrown in the ring over the next days and weeks and publicists getting on phone to pimp their clients, but this much we now know: “The Dark Knight Rises” will have two villains, one male and one female. Who would you like it to be? [Deadline]