Because Christopher Nolan likes keeping his projects as secret as nuclear launch codes, there's been heavy speculation over who Tom Hardy will play in The Dark Knight Rises.  Nolan apparently thinks that if we know who Hardy is playing now instead of a few months from now when it's inevitably revealed, our enjoyment of the film will be absolutely destroyed.  However, it's okay to rumor-monger to our heart's content and the rumor du jour is that Hardy is playing Dr. Hugo Strange, one of the film's villains.  As we previously reported, the other villain will be a woman.

If you don't know much about Strange, that's okay.  He's not one of Batman's more famous rogues.  Hit the jump for a crash course in this potential nemesis.

According to Wikipedia, Strange has actually been around since 1940 and was one of Batman's first recurring villains.  He's a villain in the mad-scientist mold and possesses genius-level IQ and is a master of psychology.  In the comics mythology, Strange learned Batman's secret identity but kept it to himself.  He eventually becomes obsessed with Batman, even going to the point where he starts dressing up like the Caped Crusader.

Keep in mind, Hugo Strange as the film's villain is just a rumor at this point, although the folks over at Batman-News say that their source is reliable and knew that The Riddler wouldn't be the villain and that Rachel Weisz and Anne Hathaway were in the running for the lead female role.

Assuming this is true, what are your thoughts on Strange being the villain?  Do you think Hardy is right for the role?  And if it's false, who do you hope the villain will be?  Sound off in the comment section.

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