I saw a bit on the on the new Batman movie in the paper this morning which I hadn't heard before so thought would share:

Tom Hardy has been cast as Bane and Anne Hathaway as Catwoman, Robin Williams is rumoured to be playing Hugo Strange.

I hope having 3 (potential) villains isn't detrimental to the film, but Robin Williams is a great actor so could be a fantastic villain.

Having Bane in the movie should help people still traumatised from his last 'movie' appearance.......

This film's supposed to be coming out next year, I wonder if DC/Mattel will use it to launch a 3.75" Batman line.

Hardy and Hathaway are definitely confirmed, but this is the first I've heard of Williams being in it, or even rumored. I'd take that last bit with a grain of salt.

There were 3 villains in the other 2 movies,

I'm looking forward to an Anne Hathaway figure, and yes a 3.75" line would be cool too.

Well, technically there's been at least 3 villains in every Batman film to-date. That's if you're counting the "normal" villains (i.e. crime bosses and/or businessmen), as well as the super-villains.

Villains in the Bat-Franchise (as I see it):
Batman ('66): Joker, Catwoman, Penguin, Riddler
Batman ('89): Grissom, Joker, Bob
Batman Returns: Catwoman, Penguin, Max Shreck
Batman Forever: Riddler, Two-Face, Moroni
Batman & Robin: Mr. Freeze, Poison Ivy, Bane
Batman Begins: Ra's Al Ghul, Scarecrow, Carmine Falcone
The Dark Knight: Joker, Two-Face, Scarecrow

I'm hoping the part about Williams is just a rumor. He's a great comedian and actor, but I don't think a Batman film is a good fit for him (especially with the dark tone set by BB and TDK).

You guys with your facts!!!

Okay, but how many times have 3 super-villains had enough screen time to really develop their characters?

I'm quite looking forward to the non-figure version of Anne Hathaway!

Good call!

The rumor about Williams playing Strange has been debunked via several sources around the web. It actually came out of somebody writing about about how Nolan tends to work with actor's he's worked with previously and thinking that Williams would be an interesting choice to play Strange. People just ran with it.

Robins is a great comedian, but his very dark turns in Insomnia (courtesy of Nolan) and One Hour Photo were both disturbing and surprising.

I would like to see Robin Williams in a small part or cameo as a villain. Like how Mr. Zassz was in Batman Begins. The way Nolan writes the current films, he's had no trouble getting across mulitple villains' background stories and making them fit very nicely in the story.

I think the complaints about Anne Hathaway from some other messages board are absolutely unfounded. She's a beautiful woman and a terrific actress and that's who I want playing Catwoman on the big screen.

Tom Hardy as Bane is PERFECT, especially if he gets as huge as he was in Bronson.

Hardy became a favorite of mine after Inception, I was so overjoyed to hear he was involved at all with Dark Knight Rises, but as one of my all time favorite Bat villains? Perfect!

P.S. I'll bet my toy collection that Robin Williams as Hugo Strange is a line of bullshit.

Any complaints about Anne hathaway are unfounded. She's a very talented young actress.
Shw wouldn't be my first choice for Catwoman... indeed I feel she would be perfect for Batgirl or Harley Quinn. Would even be a great choice for Poison Ivy (How many actresses would be a great choice for so many completely different characters???). I never saw her as Catwoman... but I have no doubt that she can pull it off, really well.

Sad that Williams is a debunked rumor. He would have been really great for Strange. People underestimate what a truely great actor he is, due to his silliness. He makes an excellent villain.

Like Depp, who was so often rumored for Nolan's Batman-verse, however, he is too big of a personality. No one would remember the performance as Robin Williams as Hugo Strange, it would've been Robin Williams playing Robin Williams as Hugo Strange.

I agree just like Nicholson was playing himself dressed as The Joker.

I respectfully disagree.
I think the common moviegoer may be that unimaginative that all they would see is Robin Williams playing Robin Williams as this character they never heard of. But I think Williams is a far better actor than that. He would get deep into the role he'd be playing. The aweful directing of the first four Batmen movies would play him up as a total loon, like Twoface. But Nolen wouldn't, and Willaims has demonstrated that he can surpass his silly side in a serious role. He's done villains before, and he is genuinely scary.

Funny thing is, Jim Carry also is capable of being a damned good actor, when someone lets him have a role where he's more than playing Jim Carry as so-and-so.

And to Jim Carrey's credit, his version of the Riddler was specifically based on Frank Gorshin's portrayal in the 60's show and movie. Carrey even stated that in an interview when asked about it.

I'm sure if they had wanted him to do a more serious take on the character, he could have done it. I thought he played "sinister/obsessed with puzzles" very well in Number 23.

Based on an article I read, they are going to try and film most if not all of the movie in IMAX. I definitely love the sound of that. The scenes in TDK, that were shot in IMAX, like the opening sequence, are more memorable to me than those that weren't. Definitely can't wait for this.

Yeah. And Tommy Lee Jones would have also been an excellent Two-face.
It was the aweful directing that ruined it all. Two-Face should *never* behave like that.
I'm *SO* glad that thanks to Nolens, we can take Batman movies seriously again.

I know there have been posts after this one that have said it's been debunked, but I just wanted to comment on this.

I feel that is exactly why he would make a great villain. Have you seen some of his darker movies? He's a straight up creepy dude when he's acting like one....and I feel that he could really pull off demented and psychotic really easy based on those movies I've seen. Anyways, that's just my opinion.

I have to agree that Carrey's a very good actor, it's funny that stand up comedians seem to make very good actors (if given the chance).

I've always wondered what Batman Forever would have been like if Tim Burton had directed again.

The thing that drove me nuts the most was when he kept flipping his coin until he got the result he wanted - that goes against his entire character. Even if he didn't like the result, he was always beholden to that coin flip and that's why he was always an intriguing character to me.

I've seen One Hour Photo and I agree Robin can do creepy very well. I'm just worried that the studio might interfere with Nolan's vision if they heard Williams was tied to the project. Or worse yet, if they tried to cast him in some goofy comedic role like "hapless bystander that gets caught up in the action".

I've often wondered that myself. I've also wondered how Billy Dee Williams would have looked as Two-Face, had the studio not bought out his contract so they could hire TLJ.

I am actually disappointed that the Robin Williams as Hugo Strange rumor is debunked. I think he would have been an astoundingly good Hugo Strange, given the opportunity.

Of course, he could also do an excellent Arnold Wesker/The Ventriloquist, but I doubt Nolan would go in that direction.