New Batman Villains: Catwoman & Bane

[Rye]

http://www.deadline.com/2011/01/anne-ha ... ght-rises/

Chris Nolan has lifted the veil off his third Batman film. He has set Anne Hathaway to play Selina Kyle, who has a double identity as Catwoman. Nolan has also acknowledged that his Inception star Tom Hardy will play the villain role of Bane, an escaped prisoner who became abnormally strong after being pumped full of drugs. Bane is known as "the man who broke the Bat" after he broke Batman's spinal cord in the comics storyline. Warner Bros has a checkered history with the Catwoman; Michelle Pfeiffer was hailed for her performance as the feline in 1992's Batman Returns. A subsequent attempt at a 2004 spinoff movie with Halle Berry was a flop. Hathaway has been vying for the role since last November, along with actresses that included Keira Knightley, Rachel Weisz, Naomi Watts, Blake Lively and Natalie Portman. Deadline revealed last October that Hardy was set to play the villain role. That started a guessing game over which Batbaddie he might be. Now we know. Here is the official studio announcement.

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.

I personally think Bane is a good choice for a villain, and I suppose Catwoman makes sense since Rachel's dead. I do hope they don't do the romance angle between the two in costume, like Stark said in the older thread, it's been done to death and it always sucks, undermining Batman's character. Then again, it's not like Nolan wouldn't have noticed that, so I'm interested in what he does with it.

[Stravo]

Bane? Really? On his own as the main villain? Oh well I guess I shouldn't second guess Nolan but still that seems really odd.

Very happy with Hathaway as Catwoman. Good choice.

[Rye]

Bane? Really? On his own as the main villain? Oh well I guess I shouldn't second guess Nolan but still that seems really odd.

Very happy with Hathaway as Catwoman. Good choice.

Hardy's a good actor and I suspect I could watch a Nolan film all about Bane alone, since there's a lot of room for justifiable character reinterpretation. Have you seen Bronson? That sort of intensity and edge of nuttiness would be great.

[General Zod]

Bane? Really? On his own as the main villain? Oh well I guess I shouldn't second guess Nolan but still that seems really odd.

Very happy with Hathaway as Catwoman. Good choice.

Provided the script is halfway intelligent Bane could wind up being a very good choice. Especially if they wind up portraying it as Bane harrying Batman repeatedly for weaks and wearing him down.

[DPDarkPrimus]

Yeah, everyone thinks of Bane as some hulking bruiser, but in the comics he was extremely intelligent as well.

[Raj Ahten]

Bane can also show us how Batman deals with a foe who outclasses him in combat abilities. So far in Nolanverse Batman has trashed everyone he fights with regularity, with the Joker being dangerous due to his evil plotting. A criminal that can actually kick his ass would be a change of pace for Batman.

[Batman]

I'm actually more worried about Selina, to be honest. Despite the general perception (quite possibly deliberately maintained by Bane himself through his choice of garments) of him as as 'Hulk SMASH!' style bruiser, he's generally depicted as quite cunning on top of being stronger than me (note the quite elaborate plot that led to the events of 'Broken Bat', so even without the overboard Venom-induced superstrength levels from the comics, he can be a quite interesting opponent.
Selina, on the other hand, you really can't do without the romance angle, possibly on both levels, and stay even reasonably true to the Catwoman from the comics. I just can't see her as a straightforward villain, even a relatively benign one (the whole catburglar angle). She's been an ambiguous character for as long as I can remember.

Yes, of course I'm biased.

[JME2]

Bane? Really? On his own as the main villain? Oh well I guess I shouldn't second guess Nolan but still that seems really odd.

It depends on how he's written. There's no denying that Bane underwent massive villain decay following "Knightfall" and stayed that way for about 15 years.

Then 2 years ago, Gail Simone brought him into Secret Six and has made him quite the compelling antagonist.

I would play him similiar to "Knightfall" as moving in the now vacant leadership of Gotham's mob and posing the first real physical threat Batman's faced.

I'm more concerned about Hardy playing him; the stain of Shinzon will not leave my mind easily....

Very happy with Hathaway as Catwoman. Good choice.

Purrrrrfect.

[Batman]

I don't think I can honestly say I ever saw one of Hathaway's movies, but then the same was true for Bale back in the day, and that didn't turn out all that badly, so I'm keeping an open mind for the time being.
Who knows, maybe this time they'll concentrate on messing up the Catwoman outfit and I finally get a batsuit I really approve of

[JME2]

Who knows, maybe this time they'll concentrate on messing up the Catwoman outfit and I finally get a batsuit I really approve of

Heh.

Regarding Selina's suit, they should use Darwyn Cooke's redesign from the early 2000's (which is her current design) as their starting point.

[Batman]

That's the one with the goggles, right? Given the stuff she used to wear before I'd agree, that suit actually looks halfway realistic and is probably the one that can best be adapted to the Nolan subset of the Batverse.

[Aura]

:huh:

Well ... I guess I'll wait for the trailer because I can't even picture this. I would have put my money on Hugo Strange (despite Arkham City being about him). Ah well, in Nolan we trust.

[JME2]

That's the one with the goggles, right? Given the stuff she used to wear before I'd agree, that suit actually looks halfway realistic and is probably the one that can best be adapted to the Nolan subset of the Batverse.

Yeah, that's it.

:huh:

Well ... I guess I'll wait for the trailer because I can't even picture this. I would have put my money on Hugo Strange (despite Arkham City being about him). Ah well, in Nolan we trust.

To play devil's advocate, we all felt the same way about the Joker and Nolan blew our expectations out of the water.

[Batman]

I felt that way about pretty much every aspect of both Nolan Me movies and I was wrong every Valendamned time.
And I AM Batman. If anything you should worry about me seeing Bane as actually having potential

[Solauren]

Bane - moves into become the new 'boss' of Gotham. Unfortunately, he's a match for the Batman overall (slightly less intelligent, definately stronger). Maybe ex-MMA turned enforcer earlier in his career. No need for the 'venom'.

Catwoman - Selina Kyle, animal rights activist and socialite. Forced to turn to crime while Bane is blackmailing her and using her to distract the Bat. Batman may figure out they are one and the same and let her go at the end of the movie.

[The Romulan Republic]

Catwoman I've been expecting and hoping for for a long time, but Bane seems completely out of Left-field to me. I've followed the character rumors pretty closely for this film, and I don't think Bane was ever in the top three. I know very little about Bane, and he seems to me to be a fairly uninteresting villain compared to Ras and the Joker.

I'm still cautiously optimistic, however. Even Nolan's weakest films are fairly interesting and watchable, and both his prior Batman films have been excellent.

[Batman]

Bane is actually a pretty underrated villain in my opinion. Sure, he's got Venom superstrength, but he's got quite a bit to offer beyond that. In fact, I'd say for 'Broken Bat' him using his strength to break my back was almost an afterthought, with the scheme Bane had been running to a successful conclusion by then there was a reasonable chance contemporary Steph could have taken me down (if not out semi-permanently). Him breaking my back was just icing on the cake, with that scenario he could've taken me apart without any help from Venom likely as not.

[spaceviking]

I am kinda surprised by the casting of Tom Hardy, he is a good enough actor, but lacks the musculature to be the man who 'broke the bat'. Bale could snap him like a twig.

[Gandalf]

I am kinda surprised by the casting of Tom Hardy, he is a good enough actor, but lacks the musculature to be the man who 'broke the bat'. Bale could snap him like a twig.

He might still be able to take Batman, but with fancy martial arts as opposed to being way huge.

Also, the Venom enhancements may not be obvious in this retelling.

[Batman]

Well whom would you cast? The only people I can think of who even begin to approach his muscle tone are professional wrestlers, and the only one who roughly matches the size and doesn't look fat is the Great Kali (and even that guy doesn't meet Bane's musculature-wise).
Given that so far we haven't seen ANY superpowers in the Nolanverse I'd expect them to either go with Venom being slightly better physically than me due to biology and concentrate on his cunning, or go for decided physical advantages but in speed and reaction time, not visible muscle mass.

[hongi]

I am kinda surprised by the casting of Tom Hardy, he is a good enough actor, but lacks the musculature to be the man who 'broke the bat'. Bale could snap him like a twig.

He was pretty beefy in Bronson.

[Havok]

Hathaway huh? A fucking doll to be sure, but Selina Kyle? Man, I hope Nolan goes fucking nuts with her and makes her evil and vindictive and crazy as fuck. I don't know if I could buy her any other way... then again, "Heath fucking Ledger? What the fuck?!"

I'm jacked.

Bane is actually a nice fit in the Nolanverse. Basically an overpowered enforcer with smarts. doesn't have crazy plans or gimmicks and just goes straight for the target. I like it.

Oh and the one thing no one has talked about yet... THE FUCKING BATCAVE! 'Bout goddamned time. I want a giant fucking Penny Nolan!

Edit: OH! Shinzon. Yeah, he was in Inception. Easy pick for Nolan then. He was cool as fuck in that movie.

[Marcus Aurelius]

I am kinda surprised by the casting of Tom Hardy, he is a good enough actor, but lacks the musculature to be the man who 'broke the bat'. Bale could snap him like a twig.

He was pretty beefy in Bronson.

Yes, especially considering that they actually used only exercises one could do in a prison cell during his training.

[spaceviking]

I am kinda surprised by the casting of Tom Hardy, he is a good enough actor, but lacks the musculature to be the man who 'broke the bat'. Bale could snap him like a twig.

He was pretty beefy in Bronson.

Yes, especially considering that they actually used only exercises one could do in a prison cell during his training.

I take that back, I was unaware of how big he got for Bronson. I was picturing him as quite a bit slighter.

[hongi]

Anne Hathaway is an interesting casting choice. I gotta admit that I don't see it. But what the heck do I know, I've only seen the movies and never read the comics.