So, although EW points out that the name Catwoman didn't actually come up in the announcement, I can't really see why Warner Bros. would hire Anne Hathaway to play Selena Kyle in the final film of Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy and have her wind up as Commissioner Gordon's secretary. So I'm just gonna go ahead and jump to conclusions on this one.
I'm interested to see how Hathaway decides to play it here. Originally, I was against Catwoman even being in the movie at all, because Michelle Pfieffer pretty well nailed it for me. Why bother trying to top that? Halle Berry tried in the most recent incarnation of Catwoman, and when I stumbled on that movie for two minutes on TV I had to do everything I could to keep from swallowing my own tongue. But I think Anne Hathaway is a good choice for someone to try and play the role a little bit more down to Earth, which seems to be the general rule of thumb for Nolan's Batman universe (excluding the Joker, of course).
But what really got me stoked about today's announcement is the inclusion of Bane as what I can only assume is the finale's main villain. I only dabbled in the Batman comics as a kid, but the one story arc that sticks out in my mind was Bane's. He was freakishly strong, due to an insane work ethic and the enhancement of super-soldier type steroids, but he was also incredibly smart. He was who was touted as the one man to who was going to break Batman. And when I say break him, I really mean break him.
Ooo...it looks like Robin may have to be the top for a while.
What I really like about this choice of character is that it puts my fears to rest that there wasn't a villain to raise the bar after Heath Ledger's turn as the Joker. When the rumor mills speculated that Tom Hardy would play Hugo Strange or Clayface, I just couldn't see them being anything more than a letdown. Then I got really pissed off at Heath Ledger for dying after giving the performance of his life, which I admit may prove to be misplaced priorities on my part.
But now we have the introduction of the only man to ever truly beat Batman in a fight, and I can't wait to see how the Nolan has this whole thing play out. I know for certain that he won't turn him into a one-note buffoon like Joel Butthole Schumacher did in the Batman movie that doesn't even deserve to be named. My new fear now, however, is that with Nolan's dark take on, well, everything, he'll just end the movie with Bane breaking Batman's back and leaving him battered and dying on the ground as the film cuts to the credits. He wouldn't do that to us, though. Right?
