Keira Knightley, Anne Hathaway and Jessica Biel sparring for new Batman role

[HMG Celebrity News] – The buzz around ‘Batman: The Dark Knight’ was endless and deserved, and its sequel, ‘Dark Knight Rises’ may soon hit the same pitch. Director, Christopher Nolan is now testing actresses and Keira Knightley, Anne Hathaway and Jessica Biel are up for a role.

The tests are set for next week and Keira, Anne and Jessica will face upcoming stars Kate Mara, Charlotte Riley and the British actress, Gemma Arterton. But Gemma just signed on for Paramount’s ‘Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters’ so she might need to drop out.

THR says Christian Bale is due to return as Batman but there are two female roles up for grabs – A villain, and the caped crusader’s love interest.

One character is Talia, the daughter of ‘Ra’s Al Ghul,’ who was played by Liam Neeson in 2005′s  ‘Batman Begins.’ In the original stories Talia is both the caped guy’s lover and his opponent. She even bears Bruce Wayne a son. So that should be a peach of a role for whoever lands it.

While Keira, Anne and Jessica need no introduction, 27-year old Kate Mara was last seen in James Franco’s ’127 Hours’ and you might have spied her in ‘Iron Man II.’ Charlotte Riley is 28 and has done mostly British TV work. She’s also engaged to Tom Hardy from ‘Inception,’ who has a role already booked in this new film.

Less fabulous blogs have claimed Naomi Watts and Eva Green were also due for a screen test. Not true. Naomi’s so busy shooting ‘The Impossible’ with Ewan McGregor in Thailand she can’t even do a meeting, and Eva is due to shoot ‘Arbitrage’ with Al Pacino in April – and Chris wants to start shooting Batman in May.

Written by Christopher, his brother Jonathan and ‘Blade’s David Goyer, the movie will shoot in both LA and London, and should be released in July of next year. Do you think they can match the last movie for drama, or will this be just another pointless sequel? Let’s hear your views….