Ken Watanabe to appear in new "Batman" flick

[Don Brown]

This Warner Bros press release has been doing the rounds of various fan 
sites lately:

Oscar-nominated actor Ken Watanabe has joined the cast of director 
Christopher Nolan's highly anticipated film about the origins of the Batman 
legend. The announcement was made today by Jeff Robinov, President of 
Production, Warner Bros. Pictures.

Watanabe, who is nominated for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his 
performance in "The Last Samurai," will play the villainous Ra's Al Ghul, 
alongside stars Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne/Batman; Michael Caine as his 
trusted butler Alfred; Katie Holmes as a childhood friend of Wayne's; Liam 
Neeson as Wayne's mentor, Henri Ducard; and Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox, a 
former board member and sidelined employee of Wayne Enterprises. 

Directed by Christopher Nolan from a screenplay by David Goyer, the film is 
produced by Emma Thomas, Charles Roven and Larry Franco. The executive 
producers are Ben Melniker and Michael Uslan. 

The project is scheduled to start production in London in March. 

The film, which explores the origins of the Batman legend and the Dark 
Knight's emergence as a force for good in Gotham, will be released 
worldwide in 2005 by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment 
Company.

Don Brown

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