"The Dark Knight Rises". The filmmaker is said lining up Rachel Weisz, Blake Lively, Natalie Portman

After announcing the title of his third Batman film, Christopher Nolan is allegedly looking for female cast to appear in "The Dark Knight Rises". The filmmaker is said lining up Rachel Weisz, Blake Lively, Natalie Portman, Naomi Watts, Anne Hathaway and Keira Knightley on his shortlist.

From these six actresses, Nolan will pick not one but two as he reportedly has two female lead roles. One is the love interest for Bruce Wayne, and the other is a villain. Details of the characters are kept under wraps and reps for Nolan and Warner Bros decline to comment on the casting process. http://nataliaportman.blogspot.com/

This latest "Dark Knight Rises" report from Deadline Hollywood came after Comic Book Movie reported previously that Nolan had met with Charlize Theron for one part, and Vera Farmiga and Kacie Thomas for another. Theron was believed to be offered to play a character named Sarah Essen, while Farmiga and Thomas could portray Julie Madison.

If Nolan is indeed looking for the depicter of his female villain, then Batman could face two enemies in "The Dark Knight Rises" since Tom Hardy has been previously rumored to be cast for a villainous role. Bruce Wayne aka Batman is likely to be portrayed again by Christian Bale.

The production for this follow-up to "The Dark Knight" is scheduled to start in April 2011 for a July 20, 2012 U.S. release. Jonathan Nolan and David S. Goyer are writing the script.