As the countdown to TDKR continues many fans have begun to ask the same questions "how many more villains is Nolan going to premiere?" It has already been announced that Tom Hardy will play the role of Bane and Anne Hathaway will play as the sultry Catwoman, but now with Josh Pence playing the role as a young Ra's Al Ghul, Matthew Modine playing a political villain named Nixon and even Marion Cotillard's character rumored to be Thila Al Ghul, fans have begun to murmur that nolan may have bitten off more than he can chew. Now there are a lot of good reasons why fans are concerned so I have put together some issues that might jeopardize the film.
1. Where do I begin? : Ra's has one, Two Face has one, Bruce Wayne has one and the joker had several. Main characters are nothing without a genesis, an origin that gives the character relevance to the story. Jerry Bruckheimer, the producer of The Pirates Of The Caribbean was once quoted saying "the problem with the pirate movies is that there were way too many characters to keep up with" In TDK Nolan did an excellent job in giving each main character not only a genesis but a purpose and a motivation. But with the overwhelming roster of great actors and villains, could Nolan have backed himself into a corner.
2. All things must come to an end ... right? : The final scenes of TDK where amazing, poetic and most of all full of holes. Now I was one of the first bat fans pulling for Two Face to make a full recovery and get back to terrorizing Gotham, but Mr. Nolan had other ideas. While I wasn't sure what Nolan had in mind when I first learned that Bane would be the new villain for the final “Nolanized” batman film, but many fans have come to the conclusion that bane is the only character that broke the bats back, therefore ensuring that this would be the final film. The biggest head scratcher however is the addition of catwoman. I have racked my brain over this time and time again and I cannot see a reason to add this sexy feline. Now while it is true that Bruce will be devastated over the lost of Rachel this fact doesn't fully explain catwoman's presence, maybe Selina Kyle but not catwoman. While catwoman's genesis has been altered from a flight attendant, to a prostitute and even an assistant, one thing is for sure; catwoman is not a villain but more of an anti-hero. She doesn't have any plans to take over Gotham or kill innocent people; she instead provides herself with confidence and steals jewelry to satisfy her own desires. Catwoman's traits portray a femme fatale rather than a villain, in Batman: Knightfall she is approached by Bane to join him but she refuses as he his known as the man who "broke" the bat. This could be one reason why catwoman has been added; which would further prove accusations that Nolan is planning for batman be incapacitated for an undetermined portion of the movie. Catwoman in many ways admires batman for being an army of one and for being a symbol of inner strength that she longs to be, and while catwoman and batman's relationship is infamous, I'm not sure if there will be enough time in this film to fully establish it.
3. No time for new friends: With so many complexities that must go into the final film of this dark saga the question has been raised, "is there really enough room for so many new characters". With the addition of Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard, Matthew Modine, Juno Temple, and Brett Cullen to any already all star fleet of actors how will Nolan balance the characters so that the new addition can be as relevant as the original cast without down playing said cast? One way to do this is to ensure that the new cast fills in the space left available by the original. In TDK judge Surrillo was blown to kingdom come and Gordon was a few cops short after some members of his special task force proved to be working on the darker side of the law. This problem maybe the easiest to fix for Nolan as we see that each new actors role fills a part of the story that TDK left blank. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is set to play John Blake, a cop under gordon's new unit, Brett Cullen is playing the role of a judge which will obliviously take the place of Surillo. Marion Cotillard whom I thought would have been the only female lead in the movie should serve as Bruce Wayne's new love interest. Matthew Modine will play a powerful politician which could serve as both a leader for Gotham and Gotham's criminals as his character is set to be a key villain. While there are still more actors stepping forward with news of their involvement in TDKR Nolan seems to know how to give the true fans closure.
This film comes with just as much anticipation as any movie to date. Batman fans have truly appreciated Nolan’s ability to tell stories in a way that is not only stylized but also cemented in gritty realism that often reflects on our own society. However Nolan decides to create this final chapter I'm confident he will treat batman with all the complexion and emotion that this iconic figure deserves. So please as always comment and discuss.