Warner Bros. Pictures announced this week that Anne Hathaway has been cast as Selina Kyle in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises. If you're familiar with the Batman universe, you'll know that Selina Kyle turns into Catwoman, a role that has been played previously by Michelle Pfeiffer in Batman Returns. Christian Bale will be reprising his role of Bruce Wayne/Batman for this sequel to 2008's The Dark Knight.

Christopher Nolan is quoted as saying "I am thrilled to have the opportunity to work with Anne Hathaway, who will be a fantastic addition to our ensemble as we complete our story." Hathaway was most recently in Love and Other Drugs with Jake Gyllenhaal.

While Hathaway may not be an obvious choice, she may have just the right blend of sensuality and attitude to make the character her own, depending on the direction that Nolan takes with her character. After all, Maggie Gyllenhaal would never have been my choice for Rachel in The Dark Knight, but she took her character and made everyone forget about Mrs. Tom Cruise pretty quickly.

Also joining the cast is Tom Hardy to play bad-guy Bane. "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," said Nolan.

The Dark Knight Rises hits theaters on Friday, July 20th, 2012, a long 546 days from now. Until then, I suggest you add the movie to your Favorite Movies list and be glad for the fact that we have Batman Begins and The Dark Knight available on Blu-ray to enjoy in the meantime!