After months of speculation in which nearly every actor who has ever worked with director Christopher Nolan before was tossed around as a potential new resident of Gotham City for Batman 3, Deadline is reporting that Tom Hardy (Inception, Bronson) has joined the cast of Christopher Nolan’s next entry in the superhero franchise which begins filming in New Orleans in April.
Details are scarce and it is not known which character Hardy might be playing (let alone if he will be the picture’s main villain) but it’s known that he will have a lead role in the new film. Previously, Hardy has been linked to replace Mel Gibson in a new Mad Max film. With production recently delayed on George Miller’s next entry in his Road Warrior series, a window was apparently opened up for Hardy to join Nolan’s picture. Hardy will next appear in Thomas Alfredson’s Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and in McG’s This Means War, opposite Chris Pine and Reese Witherspoon.
Speculation have long stated that the villains in the next Batman movie would be The Riddler or The Penguin. Hardy would definitely make an acceptable Riddler but I’m more hopeful about recent rumors floating around the New York Comic Con that Killer Croc, the Batman villain known for his scaly skin and cannibalistic tendencies, will make an appearance in the new movie. While Killer Croc wouldn’t necessarily fit in with Nolan’s previous tendency to skew realistic with his Batman films, the thought of Batman battling a circus freak in the new movie gets me all kinds of excited. Maybe Hardy could play Killer Croc as a pimp with a skin disorder as the character was portrayed in Brian Azzarello’s run on Batman a few years back.
What do you think? Who would you like to see Hardy play in the new Batman film?
