Batman will return in 2012

Deadline Hollywood reported Wednesday that director Christopher Nolan has chosen the villains for the latest installment in his interpretation of the Batman series, The Dark Knight Rises.

Christian Bale’s dark, moody Bruce Wayne will spend his nights fighting Bane and Catwoman, who will be played by Tom Hardy and Anne Hathaway respectively.

Hardy was rumored to have already been tapped for a role as a villain in the film, though some may be surprised at Nolan’s choice for Bane, a beefy thug pumped with what can only be described as plant steroids. The last big-screen appearance the character had was in Joel Shumacher’s 1997 Batman & Robin.

It will be interesting, however, to see how Hathaway will fare as the sensual and slinky Catwoman, who was last played by a supple and sassy Michelle Pfeiffer in Tim Burton’s 1992 Batman Returns. Hathaway is completely foreign to the world of action and as someone who has spent her last couple of roles in serious independent films, it will be interesting to see her in a catsuit spitting out one-liners.

The script will be written by both Christopher and Jonathan Nolan, with David S. Goyer crafting the story and Bob Kane creating the characters.

According to IMDB.com, The Dark Knight Rises will be released in the summer of 2012.