Anne Hathaway is Catwoman in Batman The Dark Knight Rises – not Just Selina Kyle

All of the speculation can be put to rest now. Anne Hathaway will not only be playing Selina Kyle in Batman: The Dark Knight Rises, which had already been confirmed, but she will also be playing Kyle’s alter ego Catwoman.

Hathaway appeared on Oprah Winfrey’s post-Oscars special, where she namedropped Catwoman several times as she recounted how she found out she’d be hosting The Oscars with James Franco. An excerpt from the video clip below:

“Okay. I’ve never told the real story before. So the real story is, I was waiting to hear if I’d been cast as Catwoman. And my manager called me, and said ‘Are you sitting down?’ And I just go ‘Oh my god, here it comes.’ And she says ‘You’re about to hear something you will never hear again in your whole life.’ I’m like, ‘Okay.’ And she goes, ‘You’ve been asked to host the Oscars.’ And I’m like ‘I’m Catwoman!!!! …WHAT?! Oh. Oh. Okay. WHAT?!’”

The news isn’t entirely unsurprising, considering this is expected to be director Chris Nolan’s final Batman film. Selina without Catwoman would be like a two hour tease without the climax, as it were.

Hathaway joins a cast that includes returnees Christian Bale, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, and Michael Caine and newcomers to the franchise Tom Hardy and Marion Cotillard. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is also rumored to take part. Basically, it’s like a big Inception reunion. Filming will begin this May and the movie is scheduled to be released next summer.