Catwoman and Bane Announced for The Dark Knight Rises

Well, Batman fans, get ready for your next Catwoman. She’s been a princess, a special agent, and a rodeo queen. Now Anne Hathaway is Selina Kyle in the third Christopher Nolan-manned Batman film The Dark Knight Rises.

Winning over other rumored actresses for the part including Rachel Weisz, Blake Lively, Natalie Portman, Keira Knightly and Naomi Watts, Hathaway takes her place alongside Julie Newmar, Michelle Pfieffer, and Halle Berry as one of Batman’s most notable villians.

“I am thrilled to have the opportunity to work with Anne Hathaway,” said Nolan via a press release posted by the Los Angeles Times, “who will be a fantastic addition to our ensemble as we complete our story.”

If that weren’t enough to worry fans of the character and previous films, we’re also getting a flashback to the awful fourth installment of the 1990s Batman films, Batman & Robin, as Bane makes his big screen return. This time played by Tom Hardy (Inception), Bane (in comics lore) is the guy that broke Batman’s back and would later helm the Secret Six. The aforementioned flop of a film starring George Clooney and Chris O’Donnell as the caped crusaders saw a caricature of that character in a very campy tribute to the TV show from the 1960s. Set in Nolan’s much darker universe, though, and with a far better actor in the role, one can only hope they do justice to this Bat baddy this time around.

Here’s the official press release:

BURBANK, CA, January 19, 2011 – Warner Bros. Pictures announced today that Anne Hathaway has been cast as Selina Kyle in Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight Rises.” She will be starring alongside Christian Bale, who returns in the title role of Bruce Wayne/Batman.

Christopher Nolan stated, “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.”

In addition, Tom Hardy has been set to play 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.”

Nolan will direct the film from a screenplay he wrote with Jonathan Nolan, from a story by Christopher Nolan and David S. Goyer. Nolan will also produce the film with his longtime producing partner, Emma Thomas, and Charles Roven.

“The Dark Knight Rises” is slated for release on July 20, 2012. The film will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

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