Finally some Batman news. This is a really big post, but news on the Batman Begins sequel have been non-existent for too long. Bare with me here, there is lots of interesting news below.... Variety are reporting that Katie Holmes has "dropped out" of The Dark Knight and won't be reprising her role as Rachel Dawes when filming begins in a couple of months time. Instead, if talks go well, she will be making her acting return alongside Queen Latifah in the British movie Mad Money. At the same time that this news broke, Latino Review have some very interesting tidbits. They claim that a "very reliable source" tells them that Rachel Dawes WILL be in The Dark Knight, but this time she will be played by a new actress. This news baffles me somewhat. There is no doubt in my mind that Katie Holmes was the weak link in Batman Begins, but a lot of that was down to her character. Dawes was uninteresting and her character arc was done in the first movie, why does she need to return. IF they are so adamant about having a female love interest (which they don't need by the way) then why not use this new actress AS A NEW CHARACTER. I'm sure it can't be that difficult to create a new character, honestly. It's not like it's the role of Commissioner Gordon who NEEDS to be in every movie so if Gary Oldman wasn't returning (which don't be confused, he is) then I could understand the re-casting of a new actor. I hate when movies have needless continuity problems. Latino Review have some more scoops, but they are barely more than rumour but do seem to go along with everything we have heard for the movie... Matt Damon turned down the role of Harvey Dent, which may go in line with the news of the casting being "imminent" back in OCTOBER!! I think it's pretty obvious they didn't get their first choice for Dent because Christopher Nolan was freely talking Batman around then and then suddenly stopped. Not to mention he had already announced Ledger as the Joker so early. Shame really, Damon would have been great. The filmmakers met Josh Lucas, who appeared alongside Christian Bale in American Psycho. There is interest in Jamie Foxx and Edward Norton for the role, which goes in line with what the awesome Batman on Film have been rumbling about over the last 2 months. I would probably rule out Denzel Washington out of the running, because all the names mentioned are around Bale's age. It sounds like they are going for a young and ambitious Harvey Dent. Some minor roles that are part of the casting call include... · Eastern European Heavy - tough bad guy mobster, 40s-50s · Female Cop - Latin, 30s. Elizabeth Pena type. · Asian Accountant - male, 40s The Latin female cop has to be Rene Montoya from the comics who had a very interesting relationship with Two-Face in a big Batman story arc that was No Man's Land. The Eastern European "heavy" and the Asian Accountant could well be newly created characters for the movie that have no comic book origins, much like Rachel Dawes. Latino Review go on to say that The Penguin will NOT BE APPEARING in The Dark Knight. If you have managed to make it down this far, all I can say is I would expect LOTS of Batman news over the next four months. With filming set to begin in the Spring, we should have most of the casting slots filled by March. Who for Two-Face then? Boy, The Joker casting shocked us all and came out of nowhere but this Harvey Dent casting is taking FOREVER! source - variety, latino review, batman on film
