The Dark Knight Rises Features a Returning Cast Member from Batman Begins, Man of Steel's Jor-El Cast

HitFix is reporting that Liam Neeson will be reprising his role of Ra's al Ghul from Batman Begins in The Dark Knight Rises. It was previously reported that Josh Pence will play a young Ra's al Ghul in flashback sequences, starting rumors that the Demon's Head would arise from the ashes of his train crash to battle Batman once again. Gary Oldman has already said in interviews that Rises would bring Batman's story "full-circle," and now we know that-that means Ra's al Ghul will reappear. At this point, it's looking likely that Nolan's version of Bane will be working with the League of Shadows and while he is more than likely the main villain, he is ultimately working for someone even bigger.

This news is fantastic, even for a movie that was already well-anticipated. If I know Christopher Nolan and David Goyer, I have a feeling that they will find a way to connect the Joker to Ra's al Ghul as well, bringing the trilogy full-circle. While not a member of the League of Shadows, it could be possible that the Joker was hired like the Scarecrow and the Joker's job was to create as much chaos as possible so that Gotham would destroy itself. The League's mission after all, is to destroy Gotham City so that its decadence cannot spread. It could not be a coincidence that the Joker kept conveniently having plan after plan up his sleeve after claiming to never make plans.


On the other side of the DC spectrum, Man of Steel has more casting news. Russell Crowe has been cast in the role of Jor-El, Superman's father. The cast of Man of Steel is looking fantastic as well, full of talented actors. Currently, the cast looks as so:

• Henry Cavill as Superman/Clark Kent/Kal-El
• Amy Adams as Lois Lane
• Diane Lane as Martha Kent
• Kevin Costner as Jonathan Kent
• Michael Shannon as General Dru-Zod
• Antje Tarue as Faora Hu-Ul
• Russell Crowe as Jor-El

Michael Shannon is an Oscar nominated actor for his role in Revolutionary Road and currently appears on the HBO series Boardwalk Empire. Antje Traue is new to Hollywood, having starred in German films the last 10 years. Her first English-language film was Pandorum, the 2009 sci-fi thriller starring Dennis Quaid.

The Dark Knight Rises will be released July 20, 2012. Man of Steel begins filming August 2011 and has a tentative release date of Christmas 2012.