The news that Inception star Tom Hardy will be involved in Christopher Nolan's next Batman adventure should come as a surprise to exactly no one. Like many other directors, Nolan seems to love working with actors with whom he's worked in the past (see also Michael Caine, Cillian Murphy, Christian Bale). In the event that Nolan is running short on suggestions, Movieline is here to help. Ahead, the four other former Nolan performers who should wind up in the next Batman.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Previous Nolan film: Inception
Joseph Gordon Levitt comes with a caveat: In no way would I want to see him play The Riddler. I love Levitt and would very much enjoy seeing him in this next film, but I'm not convinced that he can play a comic-book-style villain. Why? Exhibit A: G.I. Joe. There is no Exhibit B. Yeah, yeah, apples and oranges, but let me put it this way: Why is it that there have been other bad movies but we can sill come out of it saying, "You know, that wasn't very good, but [insert actor's name here] nailed it"? Why weren't we all saying that about Levitt after G.I. Joe?
David Bowie
Previous Nolan film: The Prestige
Now here's your Riddler. There's not even a need to make new costumes, just have Bowie drag out some of his old Ziggy Stardust outfits and you're golden.
Guy Pearce
Previous Nolan film: Memento
I've never understood why Pearce isn't a bigger star after his one-two punch of L.A. Confidential and Memento, but regardless, he'd be perfect as Gotham's post-Harvey Dent district attorney. Even better, how about he's a by-the-book guy whose father was also a D.A., something that causes some tension among colleagues. Also, he suffers from the lack of short-term memory -- which makes his job difficult.
Christian Bale
Previous Nolan films: The Dark Knight, Batman Begins, The Prestige
I know, I know: Bale plays Bruce Wayne, so he's already a part of the film. I'm talking about the second Christian Bale from The Prestige. See, there's your new villain: A clone of Batman himself! Then again, they did sort of already do this in Superman III. Though, I'd love to see an evil Batman sitting at a bar, flicking peanuts at other patrons.