Tom Hardy as Harvey Bullock in The Dark Knight Rises?

Tom Hardy Detective Harvey Bullock

Ever since Tom Hardy was announced as a lead in the next Batman film, now officially named The Dark Knight Rises , rumours have been circulating as to which character he'd be playing.

Our own theory had Hardy portraying psychologically fractured supercop Max Cort - but now the IMDb are rumouring that he will be playing another, more famous member of the Gotham PD; Detective Harvey Bullock.

Bullock and the Bat have a long history, with the Detective first appearing in the comic in the 1970s as a crooked cop.

After the reboot of the Batman timeline in the 1980s, Bullock became a more heroic figure, albeit one who is well known for his dislike of The Bat, and for his aggresive temper.

Most importantly, Bullock is known for getting results the old fashioned way; bringing criminals to justice with good solid policework rather than a cowl and cape.

For this reason the IMDb's listing carries weight - Detective Bullock fits very neatly into Christopher Nolan's Gotham, a cop who is fiercely loyal to Commissioner Gordon, and to the badge - a real, complex character without masks or make-up.

An early storyline from this era has Bullock and Gordon working together to prevent an attack by The Joker, without Batman's assistance.

Is this the character who will allow Batman to retire, a man who could help inspire Gotham, as Bruce Wayne hoped Harvey Dent was in The Dark Knight ?

We already know the police will be hunting Bats in the next film. The fact that Bullock and Batman can't stand each other - despite a largely reluctant mutual respect - makes for potentially dynamite scenes between Bale and Hardy, neither man willing to back down, both aware they need the other in order to clean up Gotham.

In the Animated Series, Bullock was sometimes portrayed as an oafish half-wit, little more than comic relief. With Nolan and Hardy behind him though, he could become much closer to his comicbook incarnation - imagine Colin Farrell's detective in Minority Report crossed with Hardy in Inception . Wow.

And if Hardy is Bullock, and we stress 'if', does this also mean that the 'female lead' that Nolan is currently looking for is Detective Renee Montoya, Bullock's partner?

So many questions, so many awesome possibilities. 2012 can not arrive soon enough!

The Dark Knight Rises is released July 20 2012.

Latest in DC Movies
Heath Ledger as Joker in The Dark Knight
17 years after The Dark Knight was released, Michael Caine recalls being "floored" and "terrified" by Heath Ledger's performance as the Joker
The cast of Suicide Squad (2016)
David Ayer admits James Gunn has good reason not to release his cut of Suicide Squad, but he remains hopeful it'll happen
Ben Affleck in Zack Snyder's Justice League
Ben Affleck reflects on the "excruciating experience" playing Batman in the Zack Snyder movies: "A lot of it was misalignment of agendas, understandings, expectations"
James Gunn
James Gunn reacts to Jason Momoa almost spoiling his Lobo costume in an interview: "I just want to profoundly thank Jason’s publicist"
Jason Momoa next to Lobo
Jason Momoa has gone method taking on the role of Lobo: "I asked everybody to call me by my character's name"
Batgirl movie
Unearthed Daredevil-like fight scene from DC's canceled Batgirl movie gives us a taste of what we could have had
Latest in News
Everybody's Golf Hot Shots
The surprise theme of today's Nintendo Direct was classic PlayStation franchises getting a comeback without Sony's involvement
Hogwarts Legacy how many spells
Unannounced Hogwarts Legacy DLC reportedly canceled, partly because the studio wasn't sure it'd be worth players' money
Ultimate X-Men #14
Ultimate X-Men #14 pays homage to a classic Wolverine moment as the Shadow King returns
Assassin's Creed Shadows screenshot showing Yasuke kneeling and praying while wearing a traditional purple robe
Ubisoft reaches deal with Tencent to create $4.3 billion mini-Ubisoft subsidiary to "spearhead development" on new Assassin's Creed, Far Cry, and Rainbow Six games
Kaitlyn Dever as Abby in The Last Of Us season 2
The Last of Us showrunner says he isn't worried about fan reaction to season 2: "The best way we could respect our fans and honor them is to not worry about them"
Black Myth: Wukong
English is no longer the biggest language on Steam as Chinese gamers embrace PC gaming even harder after Black Myth: Wukong