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No Rachel? No Big Deal!
The jury is in.
It looks like Katie Holmes as Gotham Assistant District Attorney Rachel Dawes won't be hitching a ride in the Batmobile.
Of course, it depends on who you ask - or how you interpret Holmes' spokeswoman's interview with The Wall Street Journal -- on why she won't be back for The Dark Knight.
Scheduling conflict? Or was the actress not asked back/given the heel of The Batman's boot? Does it matter?
Do we the fans want, much less need, the Dawes character in TDK?
I've said before in a previous BOF op-ed -- three months before Batman Begins was released -- that I had problems ("old wounds," I called them) with Chris
Nolan & Co. creating a female lead for the movie. I still stand by that.
To be fair, Dawes served an important part of BB: She helped Bruce Wayne see how oppressive the mob is in Gotham and that he was a "coward with a gun" when he wanted to kill his parents' assassin. Dawes essentially helped Wayne find his calling as the
Batman. Once Batman made his premiere, the assistant DA also pushed her boss to prosecute crime boss Carmine Falcone.
Unfortunately, that last move got the DA killed, but I digress.
Holmes was not the strongest part of the exceptionally talented Begins cast, but she held her own. I dreaded having the Dawes character included, but I wound up finding her to be an interesting addition to the mythos. In short, Dawes worked.
Now that Bruce Wayne has found his calling as Batman, Dawes is no longer needed.
What she says to Wayne at the end of Begins seems pretty final. She simply can't handle her lifelong friend being the self-proclaimed protector of Gotham's citizens. Dawes infers she will be out of Wayne's life -- and Gotham City -- until The Batman is no longer needed.
This might be an interesting tension to address in TDK if Dawes were to stay in the DA's office, with Harvey Dent presumably as her superior. But there is a more pressing question to address: Will Dent retain her services? Prosecutors, after all, bring their own staff members when they take office.
Having Dawes killed off by The Joker would be too predictable, but her murder would give Dent more ammunition to prosecute the psychotic villain and make the Caped Crusader truly "The Dark Knight." Imagine The Batman's rage if The Joker victimizes Bruce Wayne's childhood friend and inspiration.
And who should play Dawes if she's in TDK?
I really don't have any dogs in this fight. The actress simply needs to be a solid, talented performer who gels with Christian Bale and whoever plays Dent. Looking similar to Holmes wouldn't hurt.
Now this Dent actor...
Like Jett, I thought director Nolan would have revealed who would play Dent by now. Known for holding his directing cards close to his chest, Nolan may be waiting to announce that in conjunction with Holmes' replacement or is still struggling with the Dent
casting choices.
Dent should go to a handsome actor in his 30's who has natural chemistry with Wayne/Bale. His transformation into Two Face (in a guaranteed third Nolan Batman
film) will be tragic, not just because Dent used to pursue criminals, but because, as Dent, he befriended Wayne.
Just as important for the potential Dent actor is being an intense, passionate prosecutor -- one who has a dark side bottled within him -- one that rivals Anakin Skywalker as Darth Vader.
Josh Lucas is my bet for snagging the role. After all, he has expressed interest to the media, played opposite Bale in American Psycho and displayed bottled-up rage in Hulk and Sweet Home Alabama. Critics praised his portrayal of the basketball coach in the dramatic Glory Road.
I'm also pulling for Matthew McConaughey. But, even more so than Matt Damon, he's better suited to play Captain America in the pending Marvel Studios film. Nolan also could choose Eion Bailey, who was a finalist for the Batman role. The director pulled a similar casting stunt when he cast Cillian Murphy as Dr. Jonathan Crane/The Scarecrow in Begins
Only time -- and Nolan -- will tell.
Just get on with it, you're driving the BOF community crazy! ;)
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