So, before everyone starts weighing in, just bear in mind this rumor comes from Comic Book Movie who take non-vetted contributions from any yahoo on the Internet whether it be total bullshit or not. That said, they have been on the right track a few times and some of these casting rumors for Christopher Nolan‘s forthcoming “The Dark Knight Rises” could possibly make sense.
Anyway, according to their source, Charlize Theron, Vera Farmiga and Kacie Thomas (“The Burning Plain“) are in the mix for a couple of parts. First up, Theron has been “approached” for the role of Detective Sarah Essen. So who is Sarah Essen? We’ll let CBM summarize: “Sarah Essen first appears in Batman #405, part of the Batman: Year One storyline. She is a detective partnered with then-lieutenant James Gordon. She and the married Gordon start a brief affair. She is murdered by the Joker and is hinted as the real Mother of Barbara Gordon (batgirl).” It’s certainly an intriguing character, and one that would be fit nicely in the world Christopher Nolan has established. More pragmatically: Theron is both available (like Tom Hardy, the delay of “Mad Max” has freed up her schedule) and a solid actress. We wouldn’t be surprised if she is in the mix for a part, but whether or not it’s for this character remains to be seen.
Meanwhile, the other piece of rumored casting news has it that Kacie Thomas and Vera Farmiga have auditioned for the part of Julie Madison. As CBM notes, Julie Madison was “originally portrayed [as] an oft-imperiled socialite who is engaged to Bruce Wayne. She was not aware of his activities as Batman when, in her first appearance, she was used as a pawn in the vampiric Monk’s battle with the Dark Knight. She has also been associated with the villain Clayface.” There is a bit of a disconnect here; there is a bit of age gap between the two actresses which either means Nolan isn’t yet sure the age he wants his love interest for Bruce Wayne to be or wires have been crossed or, again, this might not be true at all.
But if Madison is being introduced into the storyline, could Monk or Clayface be villain contenders? Possibly, but they do tend to be a bit on the silly end of the spectrum of the very sober Batman films that have been crafted so far. Monk is a vampire and we’d be really surprised if that character came into play, while Clayface is a shapeshifter, which again, would be an odd fit for the more psychologically damaged and driven villains in the films so far. You can take a look at our suggestions for the villain.
Again, this is just a rumor from a source that has been as wrong as they have been right in the past. But it’s intriguing, and certainly, some of it seems to fit and make sense. With production set to gear up next spring, more rumors should be flying around in the weeks to come, but we’ll do our best to separate the wheat from the chaff.