Chromatic Casting: Remixing The Dark Knight Rises

January 24th, 2011 by Arturo

Alfred’s a tougher character than you might imagine; as Superman once remarked in the comic-book world (Superman/Batman #2, to be exact), he and Bruce aren’t quite friends, and their surrogate father/son is complicated by the fact that Alfred works for Bruce. But Sir Ben, I think, could walk that tightrope with aplomb, and bring the same kind of levity to the role Michael Caine and Michael Gough have.

Bane: Danny Trejo

This isn’t a “there’s no other Latinos” pick; for goodness’ sakes, have you read Trejo’s bio? He practically was Bane: in and out of jail as a young man, kicked his bad habits, went on to become perhaps Hollywood’s best-known tough-guy-for-hire. It’s no secret that I didn’t dig Machete – but that’s on Robert Rodríguez, not on Trejo. Bane is as smart as he is physically imposing, and it’s not a stretch to say Trejo can play both. It also plays to the visual contrast between Wayne, the graceful product of privilege, and Bane, the man who rose from nothing.

Lucius Fox: Colin Salmon

Fox, who serves as Wayne’s right hand and DL tech support at Wayne Enterprises, is typically played as older, as we’ve seen in both Batman: The Animated Series, and in Morgan Freeman’s take on the role. But seeing a slightly younger, more active Lucius would make for an interesting change of pace.

Catwoman: Halle Berry

I believe in second chances. And in giving Halle a full bodysuit to wear. And a script that isn’t horrible. And in keeping her away from Sharon Stone.

The next choice is based on rumors that had been circling Rises last year:

The Riddler/Edward Nygma: Daniel Dae Kim

There’s two really good ways to render Riddler as a character: as a brilliant, sh-t-disturbing criminal, or a brilliant, sh-t-disturbing detective who may or may not still be a criminal. Personally, I’m a fan of the latter, and, even if you weren’t big on Lost or Hawaii Five-O, anybody who saw Kim smarm it up on Angel back in the day knows he can play a sh-t-disturber. Unfortunately, the inclusion of Bane in the film seems to indicate we won’t get a new Nygma at the movies any time soon.

For the heck of it, let’s broaden our search a little, and go into the first two Nolanverse films:

Batman Begins/The Dark Knight

Rachel Dawes: Zoe Saldana