Who's Playing Catwoman in The Dark Knight Rises?

Anne Hathaway, that's who. 

She has landed the role of Selina Kyle (AKA Catwoman) in Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight Rises", which is slated to be released on July 20, 2012.

Here is a portion of the statement from Warner Bros. courtesy of Deadline.com:

BURBANK, CA, January 19, 2011 - Warner Bros. Pictures announced today that Anne Hathaway has been cast as Selina Kyle in Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight Rises." She will be starring alongside Christian Bale, who returns in the title role of Bruce Wayne/Batman.

Christopher Nolan stated, "I am thrilled to have the opportunity to work with Anne Hathaway, who will be a fantastic addition to our ensemble as we complete our story."

To be honest, I think her being cast as Catwoman can work. Nolan chose Heath Ledger to play The Joker in "The Dark Knight" and it turned out to be a great choice, so I trust his judgement in casting Hathaway. Of course, I'll save my actual judgement for when I see the film next year.

Hathaway did have competition as some of the actresses also up for the part included Rachel Weisz, Natalie Portman and Keira Knightley. I don't think would have had a problem with any of them getting the part if Hathaway didn't.

The statement also revealed the villain Tom Hardy ("Inception") will be playing and that villain is Bane. To be honest, I'm surprised that Bane was chosen as the villain, but it's an interesting choice and I'm looking forward to see how it turns out.