Rumors: Tom Hardy To Play Dr. Hugo Strange In 'The Dark Knight Rises;' TV Show Coming

We've already reported on every single other rumored villain that might appear in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises (The Riddler, Catwoman, Killer Croc) so why stop now? Once we make it through the entire Batman universe, we can link back to the single correct story, pull a Nikki Finke and say "Toldja!" So here goes.

The latest rumor is that Tom Hardy, who we know has been cast in the film, will be playing Dr. Hugo Strange, a possibility that has been discussed in the comments of almost every single one of our Batman posts. In the comics, Strange is a genius, mad scientist who becomes obsessed with Batman, learns his secret identity and ends up dressing up like him. Those are all links that certainly fit into Nolan's universe, but until the director comes out and gives us an answer, it's nothing more than speculation from an anonymous source. Read more about it, and a rumor about a Batman TV show, after the break.

The Tom Hardy rumor comes to us from Batman News, with a heads up from Collider.

My source strongly believes that Hardy is going to be playing Hugo Strange. This is the first bit of information from this person that I'm publishing, however they have been accurate in the past. For example, this person told me weeks before the recent Christoper Nolan interview that The Riddler would not be appearing in the film. They also mentioned that Rachel Weisz and Anne Hathaway were in the running for the lead female role a couple of weeks before Deadline posted their list.

So, the Batman News guys are confident in their source. We, of course, have to be a bit more skeptical without a name attached. Either way, Strange sounds like a pretty good educated guess. We know there are mad people running around Nolan's Gotham, he likes to keep his villains slightly more grounded in reality, several characters have stumbled upon Batman's true identity, and we've already seen people dress up like him too. So taking all that into consideration, and realizing Strange could slip in to the story through any one of those details, he seems like a natural fit.

But it's not like we are ever at a loss for Batman rumors. There's also the rumor that Warner Brothers will turn the franchise into a television series after the third film comes out, much in the vein of Smallville.

What do you think of Tom Hardy playing Dr. Strange in The Dark Knight Rises? Does it fit? Or should we completely blow this rumor off like so many before it?