The Dark Knight Rises: Speculation

With news beginning to arrive on the sequel to The Dark Knight, it's natural that people are going to wonder what the plot will be. With the recent announcement that Anne Hathaway will be Catwoman and that Tom Hardy will be Bane, there's going to be a lot of internet speculation and I thought I'd get my opinions out there. TDKR is probably my most anticipated film at the moment, with the possible exception of The Hobbit.

Catwoman's involvement in the story is a pretty logical one. Following the events of the last movie, Bruce is even more emotionally damaged than before and is, apart from Alfred, completely alone. A new love interest  would be a natural addition to the story, and considering that Catwoman is a criminal, it would probably make Bruce question his loyalties and motivations, which would definitely be interesting to see.

For me, however, the more intriguing announcement is that Bane will be in the film. I assume he'll be the main villain, with Catwoman as the secondary one, like Scarecrow in Batman Begins or Two-Face in TDK. Now, the most notable Joker story is The Killing Joke, which was a big influence on TDK in terms of plot and themes. The most notable Bane story is Knightfall, which also happens to be one of Batman's greatest and most crushing defeats. I think it's safe to assume that Knightfall will influence TDKR in some way, which of course begs the question: will we see this happen?

It would certainly fit with the bleakness of the overall story so far, but I wonder if it'll be too much. The film is called The Dark Knight Rises, after all, not Broken Bat. If they introduce the possibility for a successor to Bruce it could make sense, but it'll still be incredibly depressing even by the standards already set.

I suppose we'll just have to wait and see.