There seems to be news of stars joining the cast of
The Dark Knight Rises every day at the moment. So in case you, like me, have found it hard to keep up I have compiled a list of the stars of the film and who they will be playing when they start production in May.
Bane is an escaped convict and super-villain who has abnormal strength as a result of having experiments performed on him - although his strength relies on continuous use of the drug Venom. His most notable comic book feat was to break the spinal cord of Bruce Wayne (forcing him to give up the Batman persona for a while) and became known as 'the man who broke the bat'.
Bane's powers: Bane's abilities:
Superhuman strength Genius level intellect
Enhanced speed / reflexes Escapologist
Superhuman endurance / stamina / durability Hand-to-hand combatant
Superhuman healing Expert strategist
Peak physical conditioning
Hardy will make a fantastic Bane. We have already seen that he can build up the body for it in
Bronson and he certainly has the charisma to pull off a Batman villain. As long as he is given the opportunity to portray Bane as the clever and cunning adversary to Batman that he is supposed to be, rather than the
drug-fed, muscle-bound gorilla that we saw in
Batman and Robin, he will be a great addition to the franchise. And it looks promising. When asked on
Alan Carr: Chatty Man whether he will have to wear the gimp mask he responded: "Well, only if I feel like it. No. Again Chris Nolan will revisit that territory entirely." I'm really looking forward to seeing Tom Hardy and Christian Bale, two of my favourite actors, in battle.
She is currently portrayed in the comics as an orphan who learnt to survive on Gotham City's streets by turning to thievery. She has trained extensively in martial arts to perfect her skills at cat burglary. She maintains a complicated relationship with Batman as her criminal activities are often tempered by a reluctant altruism, making her an inconstant villain and occasional ally. Their relationship frequently turns flirtatious.
Catwoman's Powers: Catwoman's Abilities:
She has no superpowers but has been Trained gymnast and athlete
portrayed with them in previous films Expert hand-to-hand combatant
After lots of rumours and a long wait, the roles of these two stars were finally revealed today...and it wasn't really worth the wait.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt will be playing John Blake, a Gotham City beat cop assigned to special duty under the command of Commissioner Gordon. The description of the role seems slightly inconsequential but, being as he isn't an inconsequential actor, there is a good chance the role has heightened significance. Let's hope he isn't under-used like
Cillian Murphy was anyway.
Marion Cotillard will play Miranda Tate, a Wayne Enterprises board member eager to help a still-grieving Bruce Wayne resume his father's philanthropic endeavours for Gotham. I do wonder why Marion Cotillard wasn't picked for Catwoman over Anne Hathaway, but at least this means there is a possibility that Cotillard will play Bruce Wayne's love interest rather than Hathaway.
With such an all-star cast I am surprised there is time for storylines with such un-iconic characters but as a big fan of the previous Christopher Nolan Batman films and of these two actors I am willing to keep the faith for now.
Holly Robinson was introduced as a juvenile prostitute who lived with Selina in
Frank Miller's Batman: Year One. She is a frequent ally and sidekick of Catwoman, and temporarily became the new Catwoman following the birth of Selina's daughter.
Holly's Powers: Holly's Abilities:
Holly has no powers - although she temporarily possessed Trained by Selina: stealth, athletics, hot-
the cunning and skill of Diana, Goddess of the Hunt and wiring, lock-picking, thieving, acrobatics
gained the skills of an excellent marksman and the ability and martial arts. Trained further in kick-
to track people by their scent, but later lost these powers. boxing and boxing.
Perhaps not as big a star as the rest on the list, but an interesting addition none-the-less. This promising young actress has given great performances in
Atonement,
The Other Boleyn Girl,
Year One,
St Trinian's and
Wild Child. Despite some of those films being less than great, she was a redeeming feature of them all and you can tell she has a lot more to give. It seems she will be a minor character, but at least she might add some interest Anne Hathaway’s scenes.
Played by
Liam Neeson in
Batman Begins, Ra's Al Ghul is Bruce Wayne's mentor-turned-enemy. He was described by writer
David Goyer as Batman's most complex villain, comparing him to Osama Bin Laden: "He's not crazy in the way that all the other Batman villains are. He's not bent on revenge; he's actually trying to heal the world. He's just doing it by very draconian means." Ra's Al Ghul's plans to destroy Gotham, which he believed to be corrupt and beyond saving, were stopped by Batman in the first film, with Ra's dying in the process. Sources say Pence will appear in scenes that take place 30 years prior to the present story.
Josh Pence played Tyler Winklevoss in
The Social Network, although you might not realise this as
Armie Hammer's face was superimposed on his. Other than that, I don't know much about this actor. But Ra's Al Ghul is a very interesting character that I'm glad they will be exploring in further detail – and the reason for these flashbacks leave questions for many interesting twists and turns that might present themselves in the storyline.
The Dark Knight Rises is planned for release on 20 July 2012.
