Who Will Joseph Gordon-Levitt Play in ‘The Dark Knight Rises’?

We’ve spent a lot of time here at Screen Rant dissecting the characters of The Dark Knight Rises. A couple of weeks ago, I spent some time wondering how Bane might figure into Nolan’s final Batman film, and just this week, Screen Rant Senior Editor Kofi Outlaw explored how Selina Kyle/Catwoman might play into the movie.

Without patting myself on the back too much, I thought that we both did a pretty good job. Of course, that was before Christopher Nolan decided to throw a monkey wrench into our casting speculation with the news that Joseph Gordon-Levitt was joining Batman 3.

Within minutes of the announcement that Joseph Gordon-Levitt would be involved in the movie, fans began debating over what character he might play. Somewhat predictably, the two most popular guesses were that JGL was playing the Riddler or that he was taking over Heath Ledger’s role as the Joker. I don’t think either of those will turn out to be right, but more on that later.

In this article, we take a look at all of the possible characters that Gordon-Levitt could play in The Dark Knight Rises, and offer our opinion as to which character is most likely. Read on for our picks, arranged from least likely to most likely.

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As I mentioned before, as soon as the Gordon-Levitt story broke, many people immediately assumed that the young actor would play the Joker in Christopher Nolan’s final film, reprising the role that won Heath Ledger a posthumous Academy Award.

I won’t go on the record to guarantee that this won’t happen, because you never know for sure, but let me say that I would be extremely surprised if it did. The fact of the matter is that Ledger’s performance was a one-of-a-kind and anybody taking over the role, even the exceptionally talented Gordon-Levitt, would be held to an unfair standard.

Plus, Christopher Nolan already said back in June of last year that The Joker wouldn’t appear in the film. While I acknowledge that Nolan is something of a trickster when it comes to casting, I’m holding him at his word here. Sorry Joker fans, but I wouldn’t bet on seeing the Crown Prince of Crime on the big screen again anytime soon.

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Back before we found out that Bane would be the villain in The Dark Knight Rises, many fans were hoping that the Riddler would show up in the final Batman film. Now, with the announcement of Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s involvement in the film, suddenly those hopes have been reignited. Unfortunately, I don’t think it’s going to happen.

While the Riddler is definitely a great villain, fitting him into The Dark Knight Rises in a way that enhances the plot and doesn’t diminish the importance of the character in the Batman mythology would be immensely difficult. We’ve seen what happens when comic book movies squeeze too many characters into the story (X-Men 3) and I doubt Christopher Nolan would let that happen.

If the Riddler were in the film, he would be the primary antagonist. Since that role belongs to Tom Hardy as Bane, I don’t think Batman will be spending too much time deciphering riddles in The Dark Knight Rises.

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We’re getting closer, but still no cigar. Black Mask and Hush are both great villains, and they definitely would work in the more realistic world of Christopher Nolan’s Batman films, but the same problem we had with the Riddler comes up again here.

Unless they were just crime bosses competing with Bane for control of Gotham, Black Mask and Hush would be too complex to fit into the narrative that Nolan has established going into The Dark Knight Rises. Like the Riddler, Black Mask or Hush would be great primary antagonists. Relegating them to second-string status seems like a mistake, and a misuse of quality characters.

Of all the famous villains Gordon-Levitt could play, either of these guys is probably the most likely, but I still think it’s a stretch.

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Continue to other roles JGL could play…

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Joseph Gordon-Levitt To Join ‘The Dark Knight Rises’

We’ve known Tom Hardy would play a key role in The Dark Knight Rises for quite some time, but it was only recently when it was confirmed that he would be playing the villainous Bane character alongside Anne Hathaway who is also joining Christopher Nolan’s Batman franchise as Selina Kyle. If two hot Hollywood actors joining an already powerful cast for the sequel to the biggest comic book movie of all time wasn’t enough, it might soon become three….

In what seems to be becoming a full-on Inception reunion for director Christopher Nolan, growing star Joseph Gordon-Levitt is next in line to join the star-studded cast of The Dark Knight Rises.

Deadline has the exclusive on a big update to previous rumors about Levitt being a candidate to join the cast of Nolan’s third and supposedly final Batman film. While there are no specifics on what character he would play, JGL is currently in talks to join the cast of The Dark Knight Rises and speculation immediately points towards JGL playing another villain in the film.

While Joseph Gordon-Levitt has a busy schedule going forward, it turns out that he has enough of an opening to participate in the filming of The Dark Knight Rises, and will be good to go when production begins this Spring.

If you’ve been following the development of Batman 3, and the obligatory rumor mill associated with it, a fake (but maybe not all fake) casting grid made its way online back in July and on it was Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s name along with the character he was being looked at for: The Riddler.

Any fanboy who knows Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s talent, growing popularity and how positive the Inception experience was for him and Nolan, can piece together the obvious that he’d be a good match for Nolan’s next Batman outing, but now it’s becoming a reality and we’re excited at that fact. Levitt was also connected to the Spider-Man reboot as a potential lead due to his connection with director Marc Webb, but that didn’t pan out and we’d really like to see him work again with Nolan and better yet, to once again share the screen with fellow Inception star Tom Hardy.

With the rumored possibility of The Riddler being a villain for Christian Bale’s Batman to oppose being debunked, is there still a chance that character is in the movie? If not, who should Joseph Gordon-Levitt play in The Dark Knight Rises?

Let us know your thoughts on Twitter @rob_keyes and @screenrant.

The Dark Knight Rises is scheduled to hit theaters on July 20, 2012.

Source: Deadline

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‘TRON: Legacy’ Interview With Director Joseph Kosinski

We recently had the opportunity to speak with TRON: Legacy director Joseph Kosinski about what it’s like to be on the cusp of the opening weekend for his first feature film. Kosinski is in the unusual position of making his feature debut with not only one of the most anticipated movies of the last several years – but also (potentially) one of the most expensive.

Of course, according to recent projections, widespread audience awareness of the film does not seem to be quite what we, in the world of online movie news, might have assumed it was, and getting an exact read on the budget for TRON: Legacy has been a bit of a slippery affair.

Over the last several years there have been budget reports for the film with estimates as high as $300 million; however, Steven Lisberger (the original Tron creator/director and a producer on TRON: Legacy) has denied that the film cost “anywhere near Avatar money.”

Whatever the exact numbers turn out to be, the team behind TRON: Legacy is definitely feeling the pressure. A virtual army of workers are at the ready, waiting to see how TRON performs this weekend – hoping that the film will do well enough to justify a third instillation in the Tron franchise, and the plethora of merchandise that’s already in the pipeline.

Kosinski has already given a lot to the project: his cinematic vision (he was formerly an architect), tech savvy, understanding of video game culture (he directed video game commercials – prior to TRON: Legacy), and of course, three years of his life. Now, the only thing left for him to do is to sit back, let go, and wait.

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Screen Rant: I’m guessing you are pretty much all talked out right now (we were scheduled with Kosinski at the close of a day full of interviews). But were gonna force you to talk just a little bit more.

Joseph Kosinski: Bring it on.

SR: I’m bringing it! Tell me what it’s like to have TRON: Legacy be your first feature film?

JK: It’s been an incredible experience, I feel very lucky to have gotten the chance. It’s been a long process, but, it’s been an incredible experience.

SR: Well from out here, it looks like there must be a lot of pressure for this movie to perform. This is one of the most ambitious projects that Disney has undertaken, does it feel like a lot of pressure from the inside?

JK: Certainly there’s pressure while your making the movie. You know you want to…I’m glad you used the word “ambitious,” because that’s what we strove to be in all aspects of this film – there is a lot to live up to in terms of the first film. How ambitious it was, conceptually, and visually, and technically. So, I definitely felt pressure in making the film. As to where we stand now; my work on the movie is over, and now it’s just about spreading the word. But in terms of my job, the pressure has certainly eased a little bit.

Disney has been working very hard at getting the word out over the past few weeks. Soft opening weekend box office predictions (about $35 million) seem to have the studio reaching into, what might have before been, territories they would never agree to enter. There is even a TRON: Legacy themed spread in Playboy.

SR: You must be paying at least some attention to the critical response and the box office expectations?

JK: Well it’s hard not to because, ideally, you want the film to be critically successful – you certainly want the film to be financially successful so that you can…well, because that’s how movies like this are made, you know, they  need to make money. But as a director, you can only make the movie that you want to make. You can’t take those things into consideration while making the movie, because then you’ll start running around in circles trying to please different masters. So, I think that while you’re making the film it’s important to just keep your eye on the ball and make the best movie you can, and then realize that it’s out of your control.

SR: From everything we’ve heard, this feels like it was a very collaborative effort as the film evolved, even more so than many films. Jeff Bridges wanted to bring in elements of Buddhism, and his work with Buddhist monk Bernie Glassman; Michael Sheen seemed to have a great deal of influence on the look and mannerisms of his character, Castor. How collaborative was it?

JK: Well any film is a collaborative process, and in a movie like this, this big, you’ve got thousands and thousands of people working on it, so my idea on it was that the best ideas should win. It’s important to listen to those around you, and ultimately you have to decide which path you’re going to go down. You know, you’ve got an actor like Jeff Bridges with something like seventy movies under his belt and your certainly going to listen to his thoughts about the character. You know, I thought he brought a lot to the character of Kevin Flynn. There is a lot of Jeff’s ideas in Flynn’s character, and even some of Flynn’s lines are Jeff’s lines.

SR: Like which ones?

JK: “Chaos, good news.”

SR: What about “your messing with my zen thing man?”

JK: I’ve got to give credit to Michael Arndt  for that one.

Continue to our talk with Kosinski about the message of TRON: Legacy…

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