Gotham remains in Chicago, why Sarah Essen should be in THE DARK KNIGHT RISES

Update: Whilst I'm here, as I speculated some weeks ago - Chicago remains the location 'for the majority of the exterior shooting' for the new movie, and the only things filmed in New Orleans will be interiors using a Warehouse and a newly constructed studio. This is all for tax breaks - and nothing to do with changing the location of Gotham or using the swamps to introduce Killer Croc, obviously...

I never reported on it because I was assured the source was unreliable, but there was some scuttlebutt a few weeks back linking Charlize Theron with the role of Sarah Essen in Chris Nolan's forthcoming The Dark Knight Rises. Now don't get me wrong I'm not saying Sarah Essen won't appear in the new movie (I actually think she should, for reasons I am about to discuss) but I'm just saying this particular source had nothing to go on. But anyway, the whole thing reminded me of an entry in my January published Batman 3 wishlist which I think is interesting to revive here. Here's what I said; "If Batman Begins was about fear and The Dark Knight was about escalation, then I would suggest all the signs point towards isolation being the next movie€™s theme. Batman€™s on the run, the Gotham Police force have to chase him, he has no-one except Alfred and Lucius Fox to turn to after trusting Harvey Dent and losing him, and after Rachel Dawes was murdered by The Joker. The whole city will blame him for the death of Gotham€™s White Knight, the symbol of hope. Commissioner Gordon likewise is in isolation. His team is full of corrupt cops (Detectives Ramirez & Wuertz betrayed him), his wife I would suggest is likely to be pissed at the whole €œfake death€ scenario Gordon came up with to trick The Joker, and the fact her son was almost murdered by Two-Face. I would like to see the Gordon family troubles explored and as he does in the brilliant Batman: Year One, I would like to see a lonely and highly pressured Gordon have an affair with a colleague from his department. This would be a perfect time to introduce Sarah Essen €“ a hot, leggy blonde, unlucky in love cop who falls for Gordon and our good Commissioner can€™t resist. Someone with the physicality of a Kim Basinger from the first Batman movie would be a good bit of casting, maybe". 10 months later, I'm still keen on this sub-plot for Gordon and the introduction of Sarah Essen who MUST be an actress over 30, must be good looking but believable as a girl who has her whole life together except for the men that keep cheating/ditching her and Gordon must ultimately decide to choose his family and he tells his wife everything. If the isolation of Batman (on the run from the cops) and Gordon (who if the theory Tom Hardy is playing Bullock on the chase for Batman and up against Gordon is true AND the tension with his wife carrying over from the last movie) in The Dark Knight Rises brings with it tempatations for a connection (Batman with Catwoman maybe, Gordon with Essen) then I think that's a solid theme for the basis of a final chapter in a trilogy. Don't you? Speaking of which, who could play Essen? Charlize Theron (35) would actually be a great fit for the part, as would Elizabeth Mitchell (40) and Vera Farmiga (37). Ironically the actress best suited for the role physically would be Nicole Kidman circa 1995 and her look in Batman Forever.