It's official: Batman has its villian and villianess

 

Finally, all the casting rumors swirling around The Dark Knight Rises can be put to bed.  This morning LA Times broke the news that Anne Hathaway has been cast as Catwoman.  Christopher Nolan states, “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.”


 Couldn't agree more!  I, Jonesy, have loved Hathaway since her debut in The Princess Diaries and loved her even more in her raw performance in Rachel Getting Married.  She will put a fresh spin on the role that was made iconic by Michelle Pfeiffer and Halle Berry made Razzie award winning.


 I, Javi, am not all that excited for this casting, but since I trust Nolan, I will be cautiously optimistic about it. My apprehension mostly comes from the type of character that Selina Kyle/Catwoman is, which is one of a seductress and a complete bad-ass.   Catwoman first appeared in Batman #1 back in 1940 and has had a varied history from going from a stereotypical villain where she was a cat thief (ha ha get it?), to an unlikely ally and even romantic interest to Batman.  I know that Hathaway is not all "PRINCESS DIARIES", and she is a very talented actress with a wide range, but it's the fighter/thief side of Catwoman's personality that I find it difficult to believe Hathaway could pull off.

She will be joining Tom Hardy, who has been cast as Batman's other villain, 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.”  Bane first appeared Batman: Vengeance of Bane #1 (January 1993). He was a prisoner that was experimented on and had a steady supply of venom, which endows him with super strength.  He is most famous as the enemy that broke Batman's back in the mid 1990's, and he has since become one of the more dynamic and rather interesting villains in Batman's Rouge's Gallery. After the atrocity that was committed during BATMAN & ROBIN, it will be interesting to see if Nolan will take advantage of the nuances and complexities of this character.


Finally, I, Javi, will say that it is interesting that both of these characters are first purely antagonistic towards Batman, but at certain points they both become either allies or anti-heroes.  I think that there is a lot of ground to mine from and it will be interesting to see where Nolan goes from here.  




The Dark Knight Rises is set to release July 20, 2012.