I see that Joesph Gordon-Levitt will be in the DKR
see link
http://www.totalfilm.com/news/joseph-gordon-levitt-will-appear-in-the-dark-knight-rises?ns_campaign=news&ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=totalfilm&ns_linkname=0&ns_fee=0&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+totalfilm%2Fimdbnews+%28Total+Film+IMDb+aggregate%29

Apart from the riddler is there any other part for him to play?

Perhaps an original character.

JGL does have a passing resemblance to Heath Ledger. He won't be "The" Joker but I wonder if Nolan noticed the resemblance too?

But the girls all LOOK younger than they are; that's my issue... and why I'm unsure about hearing names of very-young-looking (though age-appropriate) actresses like Kristen Bell and Mary Elizabeth Winstead being considered for Lois Lane in the new "Superman" reboot (where, again, the actor cast in the title role looks older than he is).

Let us say that Batman as played by Bale is supposed to be in his mid 30's
That means that any actress that plays his love interest needs to be as best be no more that 5 years younger looking than him.
i can aggree that hathaway may not look 30 but she does look older than 25. Now she would be the youngest looking of the actreses here.
Katie Holmes defenately looks 30 and when she was in the first film definitly looked between 25 and 30 which would have suited the Bruce Wayne's age group..
MG looks to be the same age as Bale. She looks to be over 30 and appears as such in the film.

How and ever, your argument does have merit. Hollywood favours the young female romantic interest. Always has. Kate Bosworth looks alot younger than Margot Kidder in superman.

To each his own, I guess. But, honestly, if I were a bartender I'd still likely end up carding both Holmes and Hathaway.

A thought has occured to me.
The problem may not be that the actresses look too young, perhaps it is that the actors look too old.

Looks like Marion Cotillard is going to have a role:

http://movies.ign.com/articles/114/1149474p1.html

I still think she would have made a great Catwoman...

She is "in discussions" to play a role, according to her "reps." She is also "pregnant." This, according to a string of websites getting their information from other websites.

This is slightly less bunky than your typical Ain't It Cool? News report.

Perhaps Talia Al'Ghul will make an appearance in DKR after all....

Marion Cotillard would make a great Catwoman. Her French swagger would be a perfect fit for the role.

Agreed. However this is pretty much moot since the Oscar host has been confirmed as Catwoman.

It seems that Nolan wants a "star" in every role.

... which he's pretty much done in all his films since "Batman Begins" (granted, neither Rebecca Hall nor Tom Hardy were that well-known when "The Prestige" and "Inception" came out, respectively).

I am of the opinion that Nolan likes to work continuously with the same actors.
Michale Cain has stared in everyone of his films since the first batman.
Both Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Tom Hardy come from Inception to the next batman film,
Cillian Murphy has not only appeared in the last 2 batman films he also appeared in Inception
Christian bale has appeared in the at least 3 of his last films.

Note:
if I were a "star" I would want a role in the next Batman film no matter how small it is. It's going to be the biggest film that is released on whatvere year it is released.

I keep waiting for him to re-cast the great Guy Pearce. Supposedly he was one of the front runners for the Batman role until Bale deservedly won out.

Also, has anyone read that David O. Russell put Nolan in a public headlock over a casting decision? Strange man, that.

i think that Pearce could have been considered for the joker

Bane is a dull character but Hardy will own this flick. I'll bet on that.

I don't really care about Bane either, Catwoman on the other hand I am definitely interested in seeing!

Anyone find it weird that Joseph Gordon-Levitt is playing a beat cop? I'm sure there's more to it.

How about this: Towards the end Bane breaks Batman's back (akin to the comics) and JGL takes over as the new Batman (kind of, but not really, like Batman Beyond). That ends Nolan's trilogy and frees up the WB to continue the saga with another actor, at a lower cost, if they so choose.

Thoughts?