Not so surprisingly, Joseph Gordon-Levitt is in talks to join the cast of The Dark Knight Rises — which means he’s pretty much in. Director Christopher Nolan clearly loves the man, and Gordon-Levitt has more than established himself as a competent actor in both indie films and a Blockbuster.

So the question is: which character will Joseph Gordon-Levitt portray?

The Joker is an obvious choice due to Gordon-Levitt and the late Heath Ledger looking alike, but Nolan is adamant against recasting the part. Like others have said, I’d imagine Gordon-Levitt would make a good Riddler. Although, I still wouldn’t want the Riddler to be an actual villain. I would want him being a more grey character; an intellectual and rival detective who opposes Batman.

To speculate for a moment, Tom Hardy’s Bane is the outright villain trying to dismantle Batman. Anne Hathaway’s Catwoman is the burglar who tries her hand in being a vigilante. And the Riddler? Batman’s rival detective whose obsessive compulsion and neurosis causes him to antagonize Batman. These three antagonists would further display Batman’s detective skills while also exploring his character.

The third Batman movie can turn out very cerebral. And Nolan is capable of such a film.

Production for The Dark Knight Rises starts this spring.

(Deadline)