Marion Cotillard and Joseph Gordon-Levitt are confirmed for The Dark Knight Rises!

Via The Hollywood Reporter:

Warner Bros confirmed today that Marion Cotillard and Joseph Gordon-Levitt have joined the cast of The Dark Knight Rises, which is being billed as the “conclusion of the Dark Knight legend,” meaning the end of Christopher Nolan’s run on the Batman movies.

The two have been in various stages of negotiations for months, with much speculation on who the two are playing.

The studio said Cotillard will play as Miranda Tate, a Wayne Enterprises board member eager to help a still-grieving Bruce Wayne resume his father’s philanthropic endeavors for Gotham.

Gordon-Levitt will play John Blake, a Gotham City beat cop assigned to special duty under the command of Commissioner Gordon.

Both worked with Nolan on Inception.

“When you collaborate with people as talented as Marion and Joe, it comes as no surprise that you would want to repeat the experience. I immediately thought of them for the roles of Miranda and Blake, and I am looking forward to working with both of them again,” Nolan said in a statement.

The Dark Knight Rises is slated for release on July 20, 2012.

-Joey's Two Cents: I like that they're not playing who we expect them to be playing, though it could still mean that they're going to end up as iconic figures, just with a different back-story...thoughts?

After The Dark Knight Rises, it seems that Batman is headed for a reboot...

...according to Collider:

Christopher Nolan has publicly stated that The Dark Knight Rises will be his final Batman film, and Warner Bros. is already looking ahead to the future of the franchise. As we reported last night, the studio is currently planning a Justice League movie for 2013 and Warner Bros. president Jeff Robinov tells Hero Complex that scripts are being written for Flash and Wonder Woman (the Wonder Woman project would exist separately from the upcoming NBC show). But most intriguing is what the studio plans to do with its marquee superhero, Batman:

“We have the third Batman, but then we’ll have to reinvent Batman…” says Robinov. “Chris Nolan and [producing partner and wife] Emma Thomas will be producing it, so it will be a conversation with them about what the next phase is.”

-Joey's Two Cents: This is pretty much what we all had to expect, so here's hoping the next incarnation of the caped crusader will be a worthwhile endeavor too...thoughts?

Joseph Gordon-Levitt will be playing...

...a role in "The Dark Knight Rises."

But we all knew that. It's been talked about for months now. But the news from Variety today is that ol' JGL will be playing the role of Alberto Falcone.