After revolutionizing the comic book movie with The Dark Knight, Christopher Nolan faced the near-impossible challenge of creating a satisfying follow-up to one of the most beloved movies ever made that would also satisfy as the final chapter of one of the greatest trilogies ever made. The Dark Knight Rises, which brings the basic structure of Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities to Gotham City, was about as satisfying as anyone could’ve hoped.
The movie introduced a few new characters to Nolan’s grounded Bat-verse, including Catwoman and a cop named Blake who’s revealed to be Robin, and casting those roles wasn’t easy.
Catwoman: Natalie Portman
Having played blockbuster roles as Padmé in the Star Wars prequels and Jane Foster in the MCU, Natalie Portman did a screen test for the role of Catwoman in The Dark Knight Rises before Anne Hathaway was cast.
Interesting, Zoë Kravitz auditioned for the role of Catwoman’s friend Jen in The Dark Knight Rises before Juno Temple was cast. Kravitz has since been cast to play Catwoman herself in Matt Reeves’ reboot The Batman.
Blake: Leonardo DiCaprio
One of the first actors that was considered for the role of Blake was Leonardo DiCaprio, who played the lead role in Inception, which Nolan helmed between his second and third Batman movies. The actor was previously offered the role of Robin (who Blake is supposed to be) in Batman Forever.
DiCaprio was also the studio’s top pick for the role of the Riddler when executives wanted Nolan to follow up The Dark Knight’s Joker with a similar take on the Riddler (which the director resisted). The role of Blake did end up going to an Inception alum, but it was Joseph Gordon-Levitt, not DiCaprio.
Catwoman: Blake Lively
Back when Gossip Girl was still on the air (although not for much longer), Blake Lively was considered for the role of Selina Kyle in The Dark Knight Rises.
The character is never actually referred to as Catwoman on-screen. Instead, she’s a cat burglar who goes by the alias “the Cat” and dresses like a cat, so the audience is required to put two and two and two together to figure it out.
Blake: Ryan Gosling
When The Dark Knight Rises was in development, Ryan Gosling was under consideration for the role of Blake. He likely would’ve brought a degree of humor to the role, as well as plenty of pathos.
Gosling has yet to star in a superhero movie, although La La Land made blockbuster money at the box office and Blade Runner 2049 was a large-scale big-budget sci-fi epic.
Catwoman: Olivia Wilde
Olivia Wilde is one of the actors who screen-tested for the role of Catwoman before Anne Hathaway was cast. Gemma Arterton, Abbie Cornish, Vera Farmiga, Keira Knightley, and Charlize Theron all did screen tests, too.
Since The Dark Knight Rises hit theaters, Wilde has moved into directing with the fiercely original, masterfully crafted high school comedy Booksmart, and she’s been tapped to helm a Marvel movie for Sony’s own Marvel cinematic universe.
Blake: Shia LaBeouf
In the late 2000s, with starring roles in the first few Transformers movie and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Shia LaBeouf quickly became one of the biggest stars in the world, whether the world liked it or not. He’s since shifted away from big-budget blockbusters and into smaller indie fare like Honey Boy and The Peanut Butter Falcon.
LaBeouf was one of the actors considered for the role of Batman’s young cop mentee in The Dark Knight Rises before Joseph Gordon-Levitt was given the part.
Catwoman: Emily Blunt
One of the A-list names considered for the role of Selina Kyle in The Dark Knight Rises was Emily Blunt, one of the most sought-after actors in the world.
Blunt has been considered for a ton of different comic book roles. She turned down the roles of Black Widow in Iron Man 2 and Peggy Carter in Captain America: The First Avenger, and was also considered to play Captain Marvel.
Blake: Mark Ruffalo
In the summer that The Dark Knight Rises hit theaters, another monumental comic book movie came along that shifted the landscape: The Avengers. And Mark Ruffalo could’ve appeared in both.
In addition to taking over the role of the Hulk from Edward Norton in The Avengers, Ruffalo was considered for the role of Blake in The Dark Knight Rises.
Catwoman: Kate Mara
Before Anne Hathaway was cast as Catwoman in The Dark Knight Rises (establishing a collaboration with Nolan that would continue into Interstellar), the shortlist came down to Jessica Biel, Eva Green, and Kate Mara.
Mara eventually went on to play a different comic book role, Sue Storm, in Fant4stic, which was so heavily reshot that the most notable thing about Mara’s performance is her wigs changing mid-scene.