Dark Knight Rises Cast Announcements are FULL OF GEEKY WIN

Rumors have been flying all over regarding the third Batman movie by Christopher Nolan. We already knew that the title would be The Dark Knight Rises and that we wouldn’t be seeing a recasting of The Joker after Heath Ledger’s untimely death in 2008.

However, the news that has broken today means that Dark Knight Rises already has me won over.

The first bit of casting news is one that was suspected for awhile. After a huge hint dropped in The Dark Knight that we’d be seeing Selina Kyle/Catwoman show up in the franchise, the casting decision has been made: Anne Hathaway will be portraying the feline-themed anti-heroine in Nolan’s film.

For those of you wondering what “hint” I’m talking about? This exchange:

Bruce Wayne: How will it hold up against dogs? Lucius Fox: We talking Rottweilers or Chihuahuas? Should do fine against cats.

But! BUT! Even better! Don’t get me wrong, I like Anne Hathaway and Catwoman is a great character, but! BUT!

Tom Hardy (of Inception) has been cast AS BANE.

Bane was used, poorly, in Batman and Robin, so this isn’t his first time showing up in a Bat-film. HOWEVER, with Nolan at the helm, considering how well he interpreted villains like The Joker, Two Face and Ras Al Ghul, I have COMPLETE faith we will get a MUCH more close-to-canon interpretation of Bane.

Bane, in the comics, is a genius who is addicted to a drug called Venom which makes him extremely strong and increases his healing process. He’s totally sane and logical most of the time, making him unusual for a Batman villain, but also making him one of the most interesting. Even bigger than that: he is one of the villains who has BEATEN Batman in the past: in a 1993 story arc, Bane broke Batman’s back, earning him the title of “The Man Who Broke the Bat.” He’s still used in comics today, appearing as a major character in Secret Six written by Gail Simone (who, if you haven’t figured it out yet, is one of my FAVORITE writers currently in comics).

So, now the itching and the countdown to The Dark Knight Rises begins. It’s only going to be, what? A year? Two years? It’s not too early to camp out for tickets, right?

RIGHT?!