Tom Hardy, who played Eames in Christopher Nolan's dreams-within-dreams film Inception last year, has been cast by the director as Bane in the next Batman Movie.

I am delighted to be working with Tom again and excited to watch him bring to life our new interpretation of one of Batman's most formidable enemies, Nolan said in a statement.

Announced alongside Hardy for the film is Anne Hathaway, playing the role of Selena Kyle. In the comic books, Kyle eventually becomes the Catwoman.

The upcoming film has been titled The Dark Knight Rises. Also expected to join hardy is Christian Bale, reprising the lead role of Batman.

Bane

Bane is a powerful, highly intelligent character that uses the addictive steroid Venom to enhance his strength in the Batman comic books.

His origins are in the fictional Caribbean island of Santa Prisca, according to a biography by DC Comics. He is born a prisoner, forced by the country's courts to serve the sentence of his fugitive father, a revolutionary.

In Pena Duro [prison], Bane came to believe that knowledge held true power, the biography states. A voracious reader, he mastered six languages and studied philosophy and military strategy.

Meditation furthered his mental growth, while a vigorous exercise regimen forged his body into a lethal weapon, the biography states.

The adrenocortico steroid Venom increased his strength and stamina tenfold. Bane beat his Venom addiction after the replacement Batman, Jean Paul Valley (A.K.A. Azrael), beat him into a coma. Upon waking, the withered Bane rebuilt his broken body to new levels of physical perfection.

Addiction Addiction