Robert Pattinson was confirmed to be the top choice for the new Dark Knight last week, and since then, more casting reports concerning Matt Reeves’ The Batman have appeared. For instance, Josh Gad and Nicholas Hoult are apparently vying for the role of the Penguin, while Vanessa Hudgens could be playing Catwoman.
That last rumor comes from The BYO Show YouTube channel, who say they were informed about Pattinson’s casting back in January, so they’re now sharing the rest of the info they heard at the time. As well as Hudgens’ involvement, this intel also points to Bane and Scarecrow featuring in the movie. And Reeves apparently has one name in mind to play the former, the man who broke the Bat’s back. In fact, superhero fans will probably know him from Marvel’s Luke Cage.
Yes, BYO claims that Theo Rossi is the first choice to play Bane, with the actor recognizable for his turn as opportunistic gangster Hernan “Shades” Alvarez on the Netflix series. What makes this rumor somewhat plausible, though, is that he was also in 2009’s Cloverfield, directed by Matt Reeves. It’s very possible that the filmmaker could turn to some trusted collaborators of his to populate his version of Gotham City. After all, Christopher Nolan did the same.
Speaking of which, Bane last appeared on the big screen in The Dark Knight Rises, as brought to life by Tom Hardy. Of course, Shane West also played a proto-version of the character on the final season of Gotham, which drew inspiration from TDK‘s take on Bane. If this rumor’s accurate, Reeves and Rossi will have some work to do in establishing their own interpretation of the villain and moving out of Hardy’s shadow.
The Batman is due to start shooting in November in order to hit its release date of June 25th, 2021, and as such, you can expect some concrete casting updates soon.