It's been announced. After months and months of rumors and speculation and whisper-down-lane, it's been announced. Batman has his villains for the next film. And I'm not sure about this one.
In the right corner, we have Selina Kyle, or Catwoman, played by Anne Hathaway. In the left corner we have Bane, played by Tom Hardy. In the middle, we have the fans, looking back and forth and wondering what the hell is going to happen next.
Ok, let it first be said that both Hathaway and Hardy are great actors. Hathaway has been nominated for an Oscar and she has the looks to play Catwoman. And Hardy was fantastic in Inception and did a pretty sturdy job as the bad guy in Star Trek: Insurrection.
But...
But can they play these roles? I didn't think Hardy was big enough to play Bane, but after seeing him in Bronson (below), my attitude changed. A bit. I still don't know if he's intimidating enough. And Hathaway, well, I figure you throw her in a skin-tight suit and let her prance around with some "Meows" and a seductive nature, she'll do an alright job.
My bigger concern is making these characters Nolanesque. What I mean is, Christopher Nolan always has a way of humanizing these villains so that they seem plausible. His birthing of Two Face was actually believable. A dude with half his face burnt off that makes decisions by flipping a coin seemed believable. That's impressive. Much better than Schumacher's take.
I'll also say this: I was weary when they announced Heath Ledger would be taking over for Paul Bettany as the Joker. And further still when they released images of his smeared face paint. I was wrong, though. Very, very wrong. Hopefully I'll be wrong on this one too.