Joseph Gordon-Levitt to Join "Dark Knight Rises"?

Joseph Gordon-Levitt to Join "Dark Knight Rises"?

Movie News

By our guest blogger, Nick Hanover

Since late Tuesday, the Internet has been abuzz over Deadline's report that Joseph Gordon-Levitt will be joining the production of The Dark Knight Rises, Christopher Nolan's latest installment in the Batman franchise. Details are extremely scarce about Levitt's role but EW has a nice summary of the rumors currently floating around, including the long-standing one about Levitt playing The Riddler, even though Nolan has said in the past that the Riddler will not be the villain in the film.

Of course, that's left plenty of wiggle room for speculation, as many Batman fans will know Edward Nigma hasn't always been a baddie in the comics. At some points the Riddler has even worked alongside Batman and for a time moonlighted as a private detective. Some have latched onto this tidbit as a loophole in Nolan's comments, theorizing that Levitt could be playing Nigma as a slightly more heroic character.

Other popular theories are that Levitt will be playing Dr. Hugo Strange, a villainous psychologist in the comics who figured out Batman's identity and sold it to the highest bidder though this theory has some problems, since Strange is a bald, middle-aged man in the books. One notable prediction is that Levitt will take on the role of Dick Grayson, the original Robin; Levitt has the right looks for the part and it is interesting that Robin has been completely absent from the franchise so far.

All these theories, though, leave out the possibility that Levitt's role in the production will be minor or at all affiliated with Batman's rogues' gallery. It's entirely plausible that Levitt will be in the film in the same capacity as Cillian Murphy was in The Dark Knight, where that actor portrayed the Scarecrow once again but only for the first scene of the film. Whatever the end result, it's quite clear that people are eagerly anticipating whatever Nolan does next.