Levitt rumors around Dark Knight Rises…again

Darren 37 Comments

We have our Catwoman, we have our Bane. But now Joseph Gordon-Hewitt has supposedly been offered a role in ‘The Dark Knight Returns’…as a villain. The Huffington Post gives us:

oseph Gordon Levitt was Christopher Nolan’s good guy in ‘Inception’ — now, he might be turning bad.

The ‘500 Days of Summer’ star is in talks to play an unnamed villain in the upcoming Batman sequel, ‘The Dark Knight Rises,’ Deadline.com reports.J

Now, here’s the thing. I almost didn’t post this because I thought , you know, it’s the One Rumor That Refuses To Die. There is still some speculation on Hugo Strange…but Levitt does not have the Hugo look. I suppose he could, and I suppose it’s possible that he could pull it off. But many would rather see him as that one character who Nolan says WON’T be in the film- and that’s The Riddler.

Because of that, I *almost* didn’t post this. I was on the fence, saying to myself ‘I heard this rumor before—it’s old stuff’ But there IS the chance that Levitt was considered for a role other than what a fanbase might expect him to play. Indeed- there was a lot of speculation on who his Inception co-star Tom Hardy would play before the Bane announcement. So there *is* another villain involved.

The question (don’t read into that) for me is that is he playing a “major” foe or a cameo (much like Cillian Murphy’s return as Scarecrow in the previous film, or Zsasz in Batman Begins) or is there a mobster type? So far the arrow points to Strange, but it could be Hush for all I know.

I would ask what you think, but I suspect 99% of the int’l friends to say Riddle Me This…

So Riddle Me That—if Levitt isn’t Riddler, would he make a good Strange? Or who *could* he be?

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"Revenge is sweet and not fattening." Alfred Hitchcock

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37 thoughts on “Levitt rumors around Dark Knight Rises…again”

  1. I for one, would love to see Black Mask in this next film. Since Bruce doesn’t really have any friends other than who you see in the films, the return of his childhood friend Roman Sionis would be great especially if he is transformed into Black Mask during the movie like Dent became Two-Face. It’s only hopeful thinking but if Robin or Nightwing is out then we can safely say it will be someone from the criminal underworld. Gordon-Levitt has the goods and the ability to deliver a solid performance as a gangster fed up with the Batman.

  2. I think he’ll make a better hero than villian, Robin would be great But! he has been linked with The Riddler and that should never happen…The only person in my mind that should play Riddler is Jude Law! He hasnt even been linked apart from by fans its ridiculous!, What more do you want Nolan! Approach him!……..He’s a Oscar nominated actor, Done just about every type of role and aced it and of course!…The resemblence between Law and Riddler is striking!, I just dont see how Law could not be amongst the Contenders for a Role in The Dark Knight rises, He’s of course starred alongside Heath Ledger in his last ever movie before his death and of course there’s the Link between Law and Michael Caine!…It just fits to perfectly!, I can just see it not happening because its obv to good to be true! and perfect…Typical! I WANT LAW!!!!

  4. I remember in the comics when Bane first appeared he mostly worked in the background and had others wear The Batman down over time. If this is a direction this film may go then we may see a myriad of different villains with smaller roles.

    Remember, the Joker did hint at the population of Gotham going crazy. Also, the argument of escalation due to the presence of Batman was laid out in the end of Batman Begins.

    In other words, he could be anybody and so could Robin Williams.

  5. in many ways, Riddler and Strange are the same character–someone who figures out that Bruce Wayne is Batman.

    in the comics, Strange creates Monster Men to hunt down Batman. It’s not a stretch for a Strange-esque character to create Bane in DKR to hunt Batman, with Strange luring Batman into a trap with Riddler-esque puzzles or some crap.

    Meh. Just please someone post costume photos of Catwoman already!!

    – friendly Canadian hecticstairs

    1. So anyone who figures out Batman’s secret identity are “in many ways” the same character?

      The third Robin, Tim Drake earned his tights by discovering Batman’s secret. Does that make him “in many ways” the same character as the Riddler and Strange?

      I feel your statement is completely off the tracks here.

    1. Yes! I would love to see it, I can just picture a arkham cell with Joker sitting in the dark, Were only able to see his legs and hands in the famous Ledger pose, But who could do Heath’s charecter justice?

  8. Black Mask is perfect IMO. I think the stories match up, if they want Bane to do a face turn in the comics he and batman team up to take on the mob, Black Mask controls the mob. Also catwoman has a history with Black Mask.
    If i were directing/writing I would make him Nightwing but not in the traditional sense, I would play off of what was explored in the dark knight in how people have taken a stand, Not everyone believes that batman is the bad guy like the portray’d him in the end and a copy cat hero appears to help out. This could be Nolan’s nightwing, they aren’t sidekicks per say they are rivals seeking the same goal but have different moralities and means of getting the job done. But call me crazy.

    I would Like Blackmask though

  9. What about Anarky? That would be an interesting villain to throw in. Perhaps he’s working for Bane. Or he could just be a villain that Bats catches in the opening.

  12. maybe he’ll be Edward Nigma yet to become the Riddler. Much like Dr. Connors was in the spiderman movies but wasn’t yet the lizard. that would be good for them to do, but would also be disappointing because if The Riddler was to appear on the screen i’d prefer for them to take it all the way. so for me, it’s all or nothing. i hope, if he is even truly going to be in the movie, that he’s going to be someone totally different.

    whatever the case, nolan has hit it out of the park 2 for 2 as far as im concerned, i don’t think this movie will be any different.

    1. i was thinking the exact same thing, maybe he could be Edward Nigma working for Wayne Enterprises with Fox if hes still around, give a different view of The Riddler and then get fired, then he’ll know who Batman is and then become The Riddler and so on

  13. I don’t think we’ll be seeing The Riddler in the movie, but maybe a little spoiler at the end. It would be cool for Bruce to get a (I know who you are) call on his mobile at the end. “Hey Batman I got a riddle for ya”!!!!

  14. Being the last one (Nolan’s) I dont think they’ll overload us with villans. we all know what happens when thats the case.

    maybee another D.A. or someone in the know w/ Lucsious

    Riddler can wait for the next Director, Jim Carrey’s to thank for that

    1. yeah carey kind of killed of the whole Riddler vibe with his over the top excentric acting. but I think your right that Nolan wont overload us with villains. I have faith in Nolans decisions, I mean he has yet to dissapoint me with any of his films.

  16. I would LOVE for it to be a Joker cameo, but I dont think it will be. Riddler could be possible, but I think it would be a small role and why use him as a bit player? I think Hugo Strange is a possibility, or a mobster more likely.

  17. I’m going to throw a different name into the mix just to be different…

    Zack Ryder (aka Creeper – But I wouldn’t expect him to be portrayed as this in the film)

    They may make out that he is a Villain in this film because he could give away information to the top villains about Batman. Ryder is known as a brash and outspoken talk show host. This would be a good way in order to progress the storyline if a certain amount of time has occured since Batman has been on the run
    [For Example – Open this film up with all of the long shots of Gotham, with the Voice over of his show where he is questioning The Mayor/Commissioner Gordon about the progress they have made in capturing the Caped Crusader, possibly overhearing some vital information off air that Bane confronts him about]

    I could see Levitt play this role much better than the circulating Hugo Strange role which is presumed may be the third Villain. This role also might not count him as the “Third Villain” and Strange could possibly still be in it; I would presume him to be more of a background ‘villain’ role but something more than what Zsasz had!

    …I know it’s just a guess, but what do you guys think?

  18. Everyone knows what an outstanding pregormance Heath Ledger did in the dark knight. No one can come close to that. There will be no Joker cameo. No offense 420BAND.

    1. none taken bud, His performance made that movie what it was, and damned if I say they got their work cut-out for them. Without Heath that flick coulda been “Batman Begins 2” (cool, but not Awesome).

      I’m sayin’ they paint Cobra Commander here up and give him a 5 second scene where he’s in Arkam pacing in his cell in the background.

      could work no?

      1. I have to agree with you there man. Heath made that movie just AWESOME. and yes that could work, but my question is why waste JGL’s potential on a 2-5 minute cameo?

  22. If this were back before Batman Begins I would have pegged him for Scarecrow but that ship has longed sailed…

    If this were back before The Dark Knight I would have pegged him for Joker but that ship has long sailed…

    I would say Riddler but apparently its been said there will be no Riddler…

    The only other character that comes to mind (and this is a LONG SHOT) would be Torque as some bit part. Thing is though Torque’s not very well known (and I think he’s already dead in the comics) and he is that basic mob/crime boss type that seems to not go in the direction Nolan is trying for. Oh and he is/was more of a NightWing villain than a Batman villain (which MAYBE could be used as a way to introduce NightWing?).

    Well after a quick look at the list of Batman villains in wiki there is someone named Black Mask that was a businessman that went after Batman (as a criminal) and Bruce Wayne (as a rival businessman). He built up a criminal organization and get this, he was killed by Catwoman. MAYBE…

    1. blackmask is more of enemy to catwoman than batman. But as catwoman is in this movie, so it’s still a possibilty for blackmask to fuse in the mix. Plausible, although pretty unlikely

    1. I don’t think we’ll be seeing The Riddler in the movie, but maybe a little spoiler at the end. It would be cool for Bruce to get a (I know who you are) call on his mobile at the end. “Hey Batman I got a riddle for ya”!!!!

    1. I agree Sam, I always thought there was a possibility that Batmans trusty boy wonder could make an appearance. I think JGL would fit the bill for the role, both looks and his acting ability. But if Nolan is talking villain than I would love JGL to play the Riddler, but unfortunately Nolan has cast that option out. I do however like the idea for a potential Nightwing. I mean it is Nolans final installment of the series, why not indtroduce a modern day twist on Robin?

    2. Christopher Nolan has stated that Robin will not be appearing in any of the Batman films that he directs.

      His reasoning for this is that Robin would still be a child in this universe, and doesn’t fit into the timeline. Furthermore, as much as I like Robin I think Nolan’s universe is too dark for Batman to have a sidekick. I think Nightwing could work (possibly), but to get Nightwing you must first have Robin.

      I say Batman works alone, at least in this franchise.

      2. The Prospect of any Batman character can be cheesy if you choose to look at it that way. Hell, the Joker is seriously unreal as a character, but Nolan made that work too. With Nolan twisting the character concepts to work in his gritty realistic world, they work.

        If Nolan decided to adopt Robin into his franchise people would be all over it because they would trust that if he is bringing him in, that he would handle the character in such a way that he would work alongside the others.

        And frankly I don’t understand the Robin hate at all. He is a junior Batman, trained in everything Batman does. His outfit is red instead of black… that’s all.

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