A Villain Returns in BATMAN 3: Dark Knight Rises?

Christopher Nolan doesn’t seem to be holding anything back with The Dark Knight Rises, bringing in Catwoman, Bane, and maybe (although still unconfirmed) Talia al Ghul to make things extra tough for the caped crusader. Now, a new rumor is circulating around that Batman might also be squaring off against an old foe that’s back for more. Take it with a grain of salt, but be warned that a possible spoiler lies ahead.

There has always been one member of Batman’s Rogue Gallery that, until recently, never seemed to live up to his full potential in the comic books, but Nolan did a great job of bringing the character to life on the big screen. Of course, I’m talking about the wickedly insane Jonathan Crane AKA the Scarecrow, who was portrayed awesomely by Cillian Murphy.

There’s nothing official (we are talking about Chris Nolan, after all), but MTV Splashpage has reported that a few fans hanging around film locations have spotted Murphy wearing what looks like a judge’s robe. The scene reportedly deals with ‘Judge Scarecrow’ overseeing a trial where Jim Gordon, Miranda Tate, and a few members of the Gotham PD are forced to choose between death or exile.

It would be a great cameo since the scene doesn’t indicate that Scarecrow would be a major villain in the film, which could make things a bit crowded, and it fits with the comic book storyline of Bane turning all the bad guys loose so they can create their own forms of havoc throughout Gotham City.

I’m keeping my fingers crossed that this rumor turns out to have some weight to it.