Harley Quinn Cast in 'DKR'?

This just in from Hollywood.com:

Nolan is looking to add Juno Temple to the cast as a "street smart Gotham girl," which would be a great way for her to gain some more mainstream exposure and make for another talented addition to an already talent-heavy cast.

A "street smart Gotham girl"? Why not a Joker fan girl cone completely crazy with Clown Prince of Crime infatuation? This Juno is no pregnant highschooler with a penchant for lounge chairs and Sherlock Holmes-style pipes. This Juno is all about Atonement, being a Wild Child, and taking out enemies in A Single Shot.

Come on Mr. Nolan, there's no way you're leaving Mr. J's lover out of your third installment, are you?



No fucking way.

'Mal' Joining the 'DKR' Cast?

"So uh...Mal, what's with always building sand castles that look like the Bat Cave?"

So says ecorazzi about 'Inception' star Marion Cotillard who played DeCaprio's troubled lover in the summer 2010 classic heist:

Now it’s being reported that Cotillard is once again being considered for a part in the Christopher Nolan film The Dark Knight Rises, this time as a potential romantic interest for Christian Bale.

So far, nothing's confirmed, but Nolan appears to be in talks with several other actresses for what will probably be the role of Talia al Ghul.

Well, we all know Marion can play an angry, jilted woman quite well thanks to her turn as the semi-psychotic Mal in 'Inception.' If Nolan is going for a good balance of sexy and sinister, you could probably not do a femme fatale better than Cotillard.

Of course, it would be nice to see Natalie Portman in 'Dark Knight Rises,' if only to see her team up with Gary Oldman again. You might remember the last time those two did a movie. They were quite the professionals:

JGL to Play Gangster Alberto Falcone

According to beehivecity it's purely speculation now, but it appears JGL will play Alberto Falcone, the estranged son of deposed Gotham gangster Carmine Falcone from 'Batman Begins.'

You might remember Carmine as the man who "invented" the Bat signal:

How to know you've hit rock bottom in your criminal career: A vigilante dressed as a flying mammal beats up your goons and straps you to a police search light.

Even though it's still just a rumor, I'm going to go ahead and stamp this news tidbit as 100% Grade A correct. It was doubtful, if not improbable, that Levitt would have played Dick Grayson/Robin as Nolan has insisted many a time the Boy Wonder would not make an appearance in his films. And Hugo Strange was out also on account of the older age of the character.

So, it's likely that Levitt will play a minor but nonetheless threatening gangster in 'Rises.' I doubt he'll see much more screen time than Sal Maroni did in 'Dark Knight.' What's interesting, though, is that with the addition of Levitt as a new gangster, we get somewhat of a glimpse of the potential plot. It sounds like in the wake of Joker's apprehension and with Batman on the run from law enforcement, the Gotham criminal underworld will rush to fill the leadership void. Remember, Gambol and his goons are gone, and most of Maroni's men, and Maroni himself, were killed or incapacitated in 'Knight.' This leaves Alberto Falcone the chance to reassert his namesake's dominance, while perhaps having to battle Bane or other gangsters.

Or, Alberto could simply be on a one man crusade to kill the man who imprisoned his father. And Bane could be a hired killer, a lone wolf type. And how does Catwoman figure into all of this? We should find out more answers in the coming weeks as more roles are cast and we get a more definitive plot from Nolan. Stay tuned.

No Robin. No Way. No How

"Geepers Batman, you'd think Joel Schumacher would have killed any possibility of me appearing in your movies ever again."

Fresh on the heels of news that Joseph Gordon-Levitt will join the growing cast of 'Dark Knight Rises' is the rumor that the almost-winner of Zooey Deshanel's heart will play the Boy Wonder, aka Robin, aka Mr. Totally Unnecessary to the Batman Trilogy. Via wilx:

According to Eaton County and Grand Ledge officials who didn't want to be identified due to confidentiality agreements, production crews from "The Dark Knight Rises" scouted locations in Grand Ledge's Fitzgerald Park last week. They looked at the Ledges as well as a water treatment plant located inside the park. Sources say the area is being considered as a hideout for Batman sidekick Robin.

No. A thousand times no. Nolan has said before that he has no interest in including the yellow and red sidekick in his Batman films. Whatever character is possibly being discussed here, or whatever misinformation is being passed on here, this is almost certainly not about the traditional Robin we know from the comics or the Animated Series.

However, this could be a Nightwing type character that has fashioned himself (or herself, who knows) on Batman's style, and has taken it upon himself to protect Gotham while Bats is on the run. Remember, in 'Dark Knight' we witnessed several "Copy Bats" in the beginning, who were underwhelmingly only dressed in hockey pads. So, this could be some type of wannabe-vigilante, or maybe even a character who fancies himself Batman's sidekick.

Whatever this rumor is, if it's anything, it's not The Robin that we all know and (maybe) love. With Catwoman and Bane as villains, Batman will sure need some help, but I will doubt it will come in the form of Dick Grayson.

If this website were snopes, I'd file this rumor with a big red "FALSE" button alongside it. My guess is we will see vigilantes yes, but no actual, official Boy Wonder sidekick.

JGL in 'DKR'? OMFG

"Don't fuck with me, Bats."

The rumor mill is running on all cylinders, exploding in vibrant strobe lights, and screeching like a tortured banshee these days concerning 2012's Great Big Event (and no, I don't mean the end of the world as foretold by the Mayans). We already know that Anne Hathaway will play Selina Kyle/Catwoman and Tom Hardy will play the muscle-bound man of doom Bane. Now, according to MTV.com and about a trillion other sources, it's rumored that 'Inception' star and kisser of Zooey Deschanel, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, will possibly join the growing cast of 'Dark Knight Rises.'

But as what? As who? Does it matter? JGL could be Batman's arch nemesis The Riddler (unlikely, as Nolan ruled that villain out), one of Bane's henchman, Selina Kyle's personal shampoo assistant, or maybe just a dude crossing the street chewing some gum that Batman almost runs over on his way to save Gotham.

If I had to guess, I'd say JGL will most likely play either a mobster like Black Mask, or he'll be the one heading up the task force designed to bring down Batman. I doubt he'd play Hugo Strange, if Strange is indeed even in the movie, as he's probably too young.

However, there is one role I'd think he'd be perfect for. It's for a villain whom I've longed to see in a Batman film. The Ventriloquist:

"But Mr. Scarface, I don't remember making out with Zooey Deschanel."
"Shut up! I was there. You did. And you kiss like a mule eating a carrot."

But why The Ventriloquist? And why JGL for the part? Ventriloquist is clearly a withered old man while Levitt is a young, studly dude. Exactly for that reason. Because it's an unconventional casting choice, and because I think he could pull of a batshit insane mobster with dissociate identity disorder just like a certain other young, studly dude pulled off The Joker.

Anyway, I'm sure we'll find out in the coming days what role JGL will play. Here's to hoping it's a doll-wielding mobster.

A Leaked 'DKR' Script? Don't Bet On It

i09 has a supposed leaked script for the 'Dark Knight Rises' with some pretty juicy details. While it hasn't declared it real or not, if anything it makes for some interesting copy. Here are the highlights:

• The assassin Deadshot is broken out of prison and brought to Gotham City
• Crime is way down in Gotham, and Batman has become more of a myth than anything else
• Batman has a Batwing-like aircraft called "The Wraith", a rebuilt Wayne Manor and Batcave, and an EMP-equipped Batmobile
• Wayne Enterprises is struggling with competition (and a lawsuit) from Daggett Industries, and Lucius Fox feels he must turn against the irresponsible Bruce Wayne
• The villainous Black Mask has hired Deadshot and is working with Roland Daggett, although it's unclear who he's been hired to kill (probably either Batman or Bruce Wayne, of course)
• Edward Nashton has the Riddler's name but Hugo Strange's character, as he has figured out Batman's identity and uses this to mess with the Dark Knight's head
• Commissioner Gordon and a Detective Adams are heading up a taskforce to catch Batman
• Talia al Ghul makes a brief appearance.

So, we basically have four, maybe even five villains if you count Roland Daggett and Talia al Ghul. Right off the bat, that sounds like overkill even by 'Spider-Man 3' proportions. How are we supposed to get to know up to five new foes in all of two and half hours of screen time?

While all the villains are certainly candidates for the next Batman film, all of them together is nothing short of a clusterfuck. I doubt Nolan would make the mistake of having that many villains pop up in one movie. And why have a character named after Edward E. Nigma, but with Hugo Strange's traits? Is this supposed to be a new character? I'm already confused, and I'm pretty familiar with Batman's villains. How is the average moviegoer who may not be up to speed on the intricacies of the Batman universe supposed to understand what's going on?

Also, as io9 points out, there's no mention of a second female lead, which Nolan was supposedly casting for. We already know Bruce Wayne is supposed to have a love interest and perhaps a female villain of some kind. If Talia only makes a "brief appearance" how does she even qualify as a main component of the story? So, that part makes no sense.

The only part of this supposed leak that I would agree is likely is the part about Commissioner Gordon heading up a task force to capture Batman. That follows in light of the events from 'Dark Knight.' I'm not sure about Lucius Fox abandoning Wayne Enterprises, either. Fox has to know, like Gordon and Alfred, that Batman did not actually commit the crimes he is taking the burden for. If so, why would he leave his friend and employer, Bruce Wayne? Does he leave before or after he designs the aircraft for the Caped Crusader?

I'm dismissing this script as complete, unsubstantiated rumor. I can't figure out for the life of me why Script Flags (who found the leak) calls this the "best fake we've ever come across." At best, it's a sophomoric, incoherent mess with too many villains, questionable characterization, and nonsensical plotting. 'Fantastic Four 2: Rise of the Silver Surfer' had a more coherent story than this. If by some chance this actually is the script for 'DKR,' then let's hope it's an early treatment that got revised many times.

Tom Hardy Not Playing Dr. Strange

We can probably safely rule Hardy out as Bane, too.

Looks like Tom Hardy is out as Dr. Hugo Strange, as indicated by batman-on-film:

I can tell you who he [Hardy] is NOT playing: Hugo Strange. This comes to me via a very solid source, so you can at least start heading to the bank with it. Who IS Hardy going to play? We'll know in early 2011...or so I hear.

This opens up several possibilities about what role Hardy might play. It's likely that if he's not someone like Deadshot or Black Mask, he would be Sgt. Max Cort or perhaps even Harvey Bullock. Cort, as you might know, is the rogue cop in the Gotham PD obsessed with Batman. Dr. Strange later manipulates Cort into donning a disguise as a vigilante in order to blame Batman for further crimes.

So, thus far we've got Dr. Strange as a principal villain, and possibly a bad cop in Max Cort to boot. With Nolan scouting locations in Asia, it's becoming increasingly likely Talia al Ghul will join the roster of villains for 'DKR' as well.

Of course, there's still nothing official coming from Nolan or anybody at WB just yet. For all we know, all these rumors are just running interference for the actual story. We should know with certainty who the main villains will be sometime early next year. For now, it's probably a safe bet to go with Dr. Strange and a bad cop as two possible adversaries for the Dark Knight.