So It’s Bane and Catwoman, Huh

?While I was taking a flu-addled nap, the news came through — The Dark Knight Rises will star Anne Hathaway as Catwoman and Tom Hardy as Bane. I’m pretty excited about Hathaway as Catwoman; I think that’s a great choice, and of all the hot actresses Chris Nolan was ogling looking at for the role, she certainly has the most actual talent.

Tom Hardy as Bane, though? I don’t know. I’ve never been big on Bane because he’s such a recent foe of Batman, relatively, and whenever I’ve seen him he just ends up as a big strong guy who Batman fights. I know there’s theoretically more to the character — but I never seem to have caught it. Surely Nolan and Tom Hardy will do something pretty cool with Bane, though, right? I mean, at the very least, casting Hardy implies that Bane will have more dialogue than simply “I WILL BREAK YOU!”

Two other things: I am kind of disappointed that Hardy isn’t going to play Hugo Strange, because that character — who I’ve never managed to see in anything — is so damn weird to me. At least he’ll be in Arkham City. The other thing is this: By announcing Catwoman and Bane and the same time, Nolan has forced me to remember how Bane was Poison Ivy’s henchman in Batman and Robin. It’s probably just me, but it’s leaving me a little apprehensive about everything.