There is no hotter director in Hollywood right now than Christopher Nolan.
Nolan, the brilliant director of indie-gems such as “Memento” and blockbuster thrillers like “Inception,” is wielding an insurmountable amount of power these days with his hands all over two of the movie industry’s most-hyped upcoming projects, beginning with “The Dark Knight Rises,” the third and final installation of his Batman franchise.
In addition, the British filmmaker is now a producer for “Superman: Man of Steel,” the latest installation of the Superman franchise that continues to build momentum with high-caliber casting.
With both films being released within six months of each other in the later part of 2012, Nolan has the entertainment media across the nation, and across the world, rumbling following his latest casting revelations for each super-hero flick.
The most recent announcement came on March 27, where the Superman-revival team, spearheaded by director Zack Snyder (“300,” “Watchmen”) and Nolan, slated three-time Academy Award nominee Amy Adams to fill the iconic role of Louis Lane in the franchise reboot that is scheduled for release in December 2012.
Adams will play across from British-hunk Henry Cavill (“The Tudors.”), who was picked to wear the blue tights back on January 30, and will inhabit the superhero-journalist Clark Kent.
Oscar-winner Kevin Costner and Oscar-nominee Diane Lane joined the cast after Cavill, and will play Clark’s adopted parents, Martha and Jonathan Kent.
While the Superman and Lois Lane casting has certainly generated a large amount of buzz in Tinsletown (Cavill has been dawned on the cover of several pop culture magazines since being awarded the roll and each stars name rose to the No. 1 most searched topics in the days following their respective announcement), no film in the movie world is garnishing as much anticipation as “The Dark Knight Rises,” which will be released July 20, 2012 and is currently being shot in several locations.
“The Dark Knight” earned over $1 billion worldwide, and is currently the third highest grossing film of all time in US history.
As for the newest film, Nolan named Anne Hathaway (“Love and Other Drugs,” “Brokeback Mountain) to the highly anticipated female lead as Selina Kyle, who is better known as her alias, Catwoman.
On the same day, back on January 18, Nolan also gave a meaty roll to British actor Tom Hardy (“Inception”), who will take over as the villain of Gotham, following Heath Ledger’s Oscar-winning performance as the Joker in “the Dark Knight.”
Hardy will embody the chemically created Bane, a popular Batman enemy from the enduring comic book series.
Hardy will be joined by fellow “Inception” cast mate Joseph Gordon Levitt, who also signed on to reunite with Nolan on March 20. According to reports in Variety, the actor will play Alberto Falcone, the son of gangster Carmine Falcone (Tom Wilkinson), who previously tortured Batman in the series’ original film, “Batman Begins.”
Whether or not Falcone will be teaming up with Bane, and potentially Kyle, is to be seen as no reports have indicated the trio’s intent or nature. However, speculation around the Internet and across the film lots of Hollywood is that all three characters will be protagonists, and will challenge Batman as he attempts to rid his city of crime once and for all.
The irony of all this news is that as much as Nolan is valued, he is trying to get out of the comic-book world of Hollywood, despite the success and notoriety it has rendered him.
He has openly announced that he will stop directing Batman films following the third film’s conclusion, yet the TDKR’s studio, Warner Brothers, has already announced they will continue the series without him and Academy Awarding-winning lead actor Christian Bale.
While 2012 is set to be a scorcher for Nolan with plans for his Dark Knight and the Man of Steel to rise to new heights; he plans to move on with his career. For now, he continues to prepare for a year that will certainly be remembered when critics look back and evaluate his career.
