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TDK RISES NEWS

Six Actresses Shortlisted for Two Roles in 'The Dark Knight Rises'

by Ethan Anderton
November 11, 2010
Source: Deadline

About two weeks ago, the slow news resulted in our reporting on a rumor that Charlize Theron and Vera Farmiga were being considered for a couple love interest roles for The Dark Knight Rises, the highly anticipated sequel from Christopher Nolan. However, the two actresses aren't mentioned in a shortlist of actresses which Deadline says will be meeting with Nolan himself to be considered for two major female roles. One will be that of a love interest for Bruce Wayne and the other would be an unnamed villain. The usual suspects of leading ladies like Natalie Portman are mentioned as well as Rachel Weisz and Naomi Watts. More names below!

In addition, Anne Hathaway, Keira Knightley and Blake Lively are also in the running for the unknown roles. While the previous rumor had mentioned one of the possible female leads being a love interest for Bruce Wayne, the other was the unlikely love interest for Commissionar Jim Gordon with no mention of any villain role in the mix. Lively could become DC Comics favorite leading lady if she snags the role to go with her major part in Green Lantern, but I'm sure many of these names are all the same actresses who get offered almost every female role aged below 30 years old.

Surely the speculation will begin as to which actress would look the hottest in the tight leather/spandex as Catwoman, but this isn't a guarantee that the signature female villain will appear in the sequel. Many questions still remain including whether or not the film will again feature two villains and if Tom Hardy, already reported to have a major role in the sequel, will be one of them. I'll leave the ongoing speculation of other female villains in the Batman universe to the hardcore fans. What female villain would you like to see in The Dark Knight Rises?

Explore tags: Casting, Movie News, TDKR News

Seanski

I dont mind any of these people, just please no angelina jolie. anyone but her!
A5J4DX

cool
tammy

Rachel Weisz as the villain.
Quaked2023

@ Seanski or Megan Fox
Cobb

Vera Farmiga as the love interest and Rachel Weisz as Catwoman would make my Batman loving day.
cyn

My vote's for Rachael Weisz!!
The Movie Kidd

where's betty white? wtf?!
http://www.foolishtreefilms.com Ian Carruthers

Not so "unlikely," Gordon's love interest. Read Miller & Mazzucchelli's "Batman: Year One?" Great love interest for Gordon there. I hear this version is going even grittier, yes? That story would be awesome.
Amethyst Yost

I'm rooting for Keira Knightley!
nelson

seems like all those actresses are shortlisted for alot of roles lol
tazz

the shortlist is a complete crap, soon they will also add Scarlett Johansson, Gwyneth Paltrow and Megan Fox on the shortlist
Chris5g

i just hope it stays gritty and in realism like the last 2 bats
Adrian

Hell yeah Betty White!!!!!
harm

So the real question I think is what villianess would they go with if NOT Catwoman? Honestly all I can think of are Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn. Maybe Ra's Al Ghul's daughter that Batman shags? heh...
Johny 10

1.Rachel Weisz: I lost respect for her when she dissed The Mummy Returns just because she didn't want to play a mom of a teenager. A real actress doesn't act that way. 2.Naomi Watt's does not have the depth to give layers to such a role. She's just to plain. She is likable and I've heard she is a great person behind the scenes. 3.Blake Lively is the only person who does not belong on this list. Common, she is average looking. Walk into any Starbucks right now and you will see a woman hotter than her. 4.Natli Portman definitely has the depth that the role would require. However, do we need another flat Catwoman like Michelle Pfeifer. 5.Anne Hathaway is the best choice on the list since she has shown she can be a real character on screen and she has the looks. But, she could go the Katie Holme's lazy actress route and ruin the part. 50/50 on her. BUT SHE IS THE BEST ON THIS LIST. 6.Everyone has heard about Keira Knightley's arrogant behavior, enough said about that.
Lolly

HARLEY QUINN HARLEY QUINN HARLEY QUINN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
beavis

definitely i'd love to see harley quinn as the villian. as far as actresses, i'm not overly fond of the ability of any of the mentioned actresses......... for this role, some that come to mind are dru barrymore or minni driver, abby cornish. but.......honestly - i think tina fey would ROCK as harley quinn. anyone but hathaway, portman, or lively - they don't seem right for this type of movie, AT ALL.
beavis

#15 - being "hot" does not equal being a great actress. if we're limited to the list - rachel weisz and Keira Knightley are the best of the bunch - and it isn't even close. vera farmiga was mentioned on a past story - if she is in the running - GET HER ON THIS MOVIE - she's great.
Xerxex

Agreed beavis, Farmiga is needed on set. if nit I'd love to see Weisz or Knightley as well. I'd be interested to see Knightley as Harley Quinn. No Catwoman, Harely Quinn see's one of the best femme fatale's out there. Besides Joker mentioned a wife muhwahahahahahaha, joking.
Cracky

I do not want to see a female villain... Unless its Harley Quinn. Man, that would be wonderful. All other options would be bullshit. Including Catwoman. Because fuck.
Cory

I might be the only one in the entire world that would admit to this, but I HATE the character of Catwoman. To be quite honest, I hope the female villain turns out to be Talia Al' Ghul. That would certainly be a full circle story. The end of the movie could even have Batman journey back to where everything started. The mountains where Ra's Al' Ghul trained him. Maybe even throw in some Lazarus Pit action, although I know that doesn't exactly flow with Nolan's "realistic" approach. No matter what though, I have faith in Nolan. Catwoman or not.
Have Hope

..................
21's right

Talia Al' Ghul would b sick
Jesus

just please no catwoman. harley quinn because her outfit is sexier. yes comic characters are sexy.
immature

@15 - Check out 21 Grams if you think Watts can't bring depth.
Alboone

This is bullshit. First he negates the Riddler which to me is ripe for reinvention. And now he has to add a love interest. Are you fucking kidding me? She died in the last film. Having one would just distract him from his mission. No! No! No! Nolan is the man and all but if this partial synopsis is true then this is a strike one for me.
Brian

Guys, the role was for a hot young female, not a walking and unfunny corpse. When that role comes up, I'm sure Betty White will have first shot.
Level1Alt

What, no Susan Boyle? XD
weezy1

Harley Quinn....because that would be the link to the Joker without having to SHOW the Joker! It all fits with the Hugo Strange story! Just NO CATWOMAN....Too much story for one movie, especially the last of a trilogy.
beavis

xerxex, if they did harley quinn and link her to the joker as his wife and she's out for revenge? that would be too FU#KING awesome!!!!!
Happy Camper

@15 have you ever seen a Naomi Watts film? cause you got it all wrong. 21 Grams and Mulholand Dr. some of the best acting of the 00' decade.
silver

Rachel Weisz, Portman or Hathaway plz
J

Why the hell does every batman movie always have to have a love interest? It made sense in the first two Nolan films, and it helped that it was the same character. However they never seem to be anything but window dressing (with the exception of Catwoman in Batman returns,which is a shitty movie). Even in Batman Begins Katie Holmes didn't do much but provide updates to Bruce about the current state of Gotham and give him someone to confide in/save instead of Alfred or Gordon. Oh, and to all you Harley Quinn lovers, she is boring as hell without the Joker to play off of. She can't stand on her own as a character, and it wouldn't make sense to have her there as a stand alone character anyway. The best part of her story arc is how she was manipulated into becoming a criminal sociopath by the Joker (who Nolan has already said will not make an appearance in the movie). So why would she even be in the film. People that don't read the comics are just going to think Warner Bros is throwing her in as a Joker-Lite anyway. Ugh.... Hollywood is so fucking dumb when it comes to comic book movies it makes me sick. I'll stick to the comics where Batman doesn't have some new bimbo showing up every issue.
Xerxex

beavis, it would be awesome! I mean she was one of the inspiration stories behind the Joker's Chelsea Smile, so in terms of story it would be epic.
TumM

Harley Quinn seems to be more logical than Catwoman anyway
Dan

Naomi Watts makes me orgasm!
L

Surely there must be more interesting villains than Catwoman. I'm fine with the list of actresses, as long as Blake Lively isn't in the movie. Her acting sucks. I have a feeling none of these actresses will end up getting the role.
Akirakorn

Harley Quinn doesn't have to be the joker's wife... she could easily be some nutcase with an obsession... like Nurse Betty but REALLY crazy. Or she could've been the brains behind his madness. For a man "without a plan" all his schemes went off perfectly. And I just love how everyones whining NO CATWOMAN!!! Seriously. No mention of Poison Ivy for a villain? Maybe a Wonder Woman cameo. Or Supergirl. Or Olivia Munn with a Lightsaber. Only way I'd give a crap at this point is if Helen Mirren played Catwoman. Old, retired villain. Still hot too.
beavis

#38 - harley quinn just being batshit nuts? that's great too! and #33 - maybe you should stick to comics since you seem to have a lot of problem with the different batman movies.
I am...

Please no Kierra and no Ann!! Nolan, I know you're reading this...you're smarter than this!!!!! We want Beauty and talent! Naomie Watts would do brilliantly as she hasn't received the audience she deserves...I loved her in King kong. She could help me rise my King...No reader, I am not ahamed of this loll! It's no secret that the CAT will be in it, so why bother. Harley could be in too! anyway I want to see this ! Who even believed that there could be a love interest for Gordon who is married and we all saw that in TDK. I know there are twists and turns in movies, but him being married is not one of them loll! By the way, did I mention that we want someone Lively? lollll! She was a stripper in "The town" and there is no huge gap between the acrobaties of the cat and a stripper...so
John Doe

#40 a little tipsy today aren't we? LOL
Adam

Vera Farmiga would be an awesome Catwoman!!!
Ross

oh please dont have Knightly on this. I really dont liker her at all. i like the idea of a love interest for Gordon, Farmigna as Sarah Essen would be good but fitting that into the story and being relevant would be difficult. id like a few conversations between batman and gordon, maybe strain the relationship with batman hinting that he knows about the affair (separately id like him to call gordon Jim from now on too, dont think he did in TDK)
Lolly

To make my argument for Harley Quinn more than just a fan girl's jump for joy, I think that she would be an excellent choice because if there is one thing Nolan does well it is that he puts less known characters in the spot light. He gives us new access to characters and "fresh faces" that we didnt expect. I think that using Harley Quinn would add to the madness left behind by the Joker as well as give us a new side to the character we haven't seen. Problem is that I can not imagine any of these women in the role. As a matter of fact, the majority of them I love but don't see fitting into the Batman world. I would prefer actresses that are less known or harder to find in film. But that's just my preference. I respect everyone's wishes for their favorite girl or character because I know what it's like to want to see batman done just as well as it was in the past two films! Too bad Heath died because I'd love to see a "Killing Joke" styled plot but then we'd need Batgirl/Barbara Gordon and that would confuse things.
splinter

anyone that mentions megan fox, angelina jolie, or Kierra is an idiot, the rest of the list is not so bad, but more or less i trust Nolan, i did not see heath ledger as joke yet the performance was re inventing the joker, even for batman under the hood, they based that joker after heath, as far as this shortlist goes, only two names say potential to me, and that is Portman, or Hathaway, the others are pretty faces that will be good for love interests, either way i am sure the shortlist is incomplete, im sure one of them will be cat women, since two primary hints from the last movie hinted towards riddler and cat women i can see one of these character seeing daylight, and since Nolan said no riddler, come on be real?? And Harley Quinn..... NO JOKER NO HARLEY , thats like taking making a movie just about robin and still calling it dark night.... the two are a pair and never will part, unless there is a fill for the joker then there is no point to introduce harley im not a huge Dc fan but i like what Nolan had done with the franchise, Aside from Christian Bale's love grunting in the movie he plays bruce well, all in all i am sure who ever Nolan goes with will fit the role, he has done a great job thus far.
KING

i think harley quinn out for revenge would be crazy. it'll be nice. she'll have to be very sadistic tho like the joker to pull out sumtin like that. but nolan is a genius when it comes to that so i trust his judgement tho. we'll see prally with some kind of pics or a teaser trailer around fall of next year prally
Tim

Blake Lively seriously...Its Nolan for god sakes.
Brad

I just want to see a Justice League tease after the credits. And Harley Quinn. I really wish they would do the Bane story arc some justice. Bane broke Batmans back, and was a genius, and was Batman's "Luthor". Not some gimpy slave belonging to a poorly portrayed Poison Ivy
DaftPUNKFAN

HARLEY QUINN yes yes yes
nathen

Kate Beckinsale should play Catwoman