Batman 3 news is so incredibly valuable, due to both The Dark Knight’s popularity and the shroud of secrecy surrounding the threequel, that even an actor simply expressing his desire to be in it is newsworthy. Fans want Batman news, plain and simple, and unfortunately, director Christopher Nolan is not so willing to dish much out.

Recently, Tom Hardy (Inception) was cast as an undisclosed leading man in Batman 3 (The Riddler? Killer Croc? Bane? Some entirely new character created solely for the movie?). Now it seems that Nolan is in the process of finding his undisclosed leading lady, too.

According to Moviehole, Nolan has been meeting with a number of female actresses in their late twenties and early thirties, all of whom, prior to the meeting, don't have a clue as to what part they might be auditioning for.

However, Moviehole’s source indicated that the part in question is none other than the expert thief Catwoman—who has, indeed, been repeatedly rumored to be in the film. Their source also stressed that nothing is certain - as a result of Christopher Nolan’s iron-fisted grip on anything related to Batman 3's plot.

robin batman 3 villains cast

Other options, of course, are Talia al Ghul (daughter to Ra's, played by Liam Neeson, from the first film), Harley Quinn (Joker fanatic and dangerous acrobat), Lady Shiva (one of the few human beings known to be able to hold her own against Batman in hand-to-hand combat), Poison Ivy (superhuman master of plant-life, which makes her an unlikely candidate in Nolan’s Batman universe), Vicky Vale (she was in Tim Burton’s first Batman movie, but she was around in the comics long before that), and so on.

Then again, the role could also be an entirely new female character created solely for the movie, a la Rachel Dawes (Katie Holmes, Maggie Gyllenhaal) from the first two movies.

Honestly, I wouldn’t mind seeing Catwoman or even Harley Quinn, but the other candidates don’t interest me in the slightest. As I said previously, Poison Ivy just doesn't fit with the ultra-realistic world that Christopher Nolan has created. Talia al Ghul could’ve been interesting, once upon a time, but they would’ve had to introduce her (and her intense adoration of Bruce Wayne) in Batman Begins to fully realize her potential. Now, it would just feel like last minute stunt-character-casting.

Catwoman and Harley Quinn in Batman 3

What do you think? If you had your druthers, what female character from the Batman universe would show up in Nolan's third Batman film?

Batman 3 begins shooting this spring - aiming to hit theaters July 20th, 2012.

Source: Moviehole

Catwoman art by Guillem March (header image) & Jim Lee