Batman The Dark Knight Rises

The final Batman in the Christopher Nolan trilogy has been named as the Dark Knight Rises, original I know.The release date has also been set, 20th July 2012. Apart from that we know very little except that Nolan and Bale will be back as the dynamic duo (OK, not quite) for their final caped cruisader movie.

The rumours are a plenty with regards...well, everything about the movie! We still don't know who will play the villain, or infact which villians will feature in the film. Come to think of it the plot details are scarce aswell. Do we really know anything yet?!

Well sure we do. A host of characters will return including those played by Christian Bale as Batman incase you've had your head in the sand for the last few years, Morgan Freeman as Lucious Fox, Michael Caine as Alfred and Gary Oldman as Jim Gordon.

Here is a list of the characters and/or actors/actresses rumoured to be in the movie:

• Tom Hardy has been confirmed as having a role but its not yet clear which character he will play. Could it be Dr Hugo Strange? According to leaked reports it might even be Gotham underworld criminal Black Mask. I will post an update once we get a confirmation. Either way, Hardy will be a welcome addition to the cast on the back of his success in Bronson and Inception.

• UPDATE: It has now been confirmed that Tom Hardy will play Bane.
  

• Will we see another catwoman? Some reports say that Nolan is casting 2 actresses for major roles, others say that only one lead actress will be present. Again the reports are sketchy with some saying that both will be villains, while others think a love interest and a villain will be on the menu.

• UPDATE: Anne Hathaway will play Selina Kyle. There is a possibility she will also play the character catwoman but this has not yet been confirmed.
  

• The other female villain role hitting the rumour mill is Talia al Ghul, the daughter of Ra's al Ghul as played by Liam Neeson in the first Nolan installment Batman Begins.

• The muscle could be provided by notorious bad guy Killer Croc. No details yet weather he would have a major or bit part role in the movie and no casting details have emerged.

Who we won't have in the movie:

• Confirmed - No Joker or Two Face / Harvey Dent. Neither will be present in the Dark Knight Rises but there is nothing stoppoing them returning in future films. Off the back of the success of the dark knight and the incredible acting of Heath Ledger who would take up the task? A very brave man is my view. But...and these are very obscure unconfirmed reports...we might see a CGI Joker in the movie using cut scenes from the dark knight. Could this be?! Watch to find out!

• Confirmed - No Mr Freeze! I hear the collect sigh of disappointment..no wait, relief! After the shambles of Arnold Schwarzenegger's role in Batman and Robin I think few fans will feel hard done by.

• Hope as we might Philip Seymour Hoffman won't be playing the Penguin, though I think this would have been a fantastic addition.

• Confirmed - No riddler! Edward Nygma will not be in the movie after a whole hot of names, including Johnny Depp,

Once some final casting details emerge we should get a better idea of which plot line the film will follow. Could it be a story based on the one pencilled by Doug Moench in Batman: Prey? If yes, it could help to confirm the inclusion of Hugo Strange, but who am I to speculate?!

Well, things have certainly moved quickly and very publicly in the Batman world of late. We have set pictures of Bane and Batman fighting, a few pictures of Anne Hathaway in a much discussed catwoman costume, news of numerous stunt accidents (most of which have related to Hathaway) and plenty of A list sightings on set.

Finally, we also have a teaser trailer and a terrific movie poster that has only hyped the movie even more.

So to kick us off here are a few pictures that have done the rounds over the last few months to get us going:

Well, Liam Neeson was seen on set in London, which has sparked rumours that he is set to reappear as Ra's al Ghul. We wouldn't be suprised and he would be a great addition to an already jam packed A cast list.

Read the full story here.

More to follow when we have it.