As the cast of The Dark Knight Rises continues to get fleshed out, one of our favorite bits of casting news continues to be Tom Hardy as Bane. Basing their opinion largely on the character's appearance in the abysmal 1997 film Batman & Robin, some fans have expressed trepidation over Bane showing up as a villain in the next Christopher Nolan Batman flick. But we submit that if you're incapable of enjoying a massive juiced-up Latin American villain in a luchador mask, then maybe you shouldn't be watching superhero movies, huh?
Another issue some internet commentators have voiced, however, is that perhaps Hardy isn't quite built enough to portray the physically imposing Bane. But this new photo, taken and tweeted by a fan on the set of The Dark Knight Rises should go a long way to putting those concerns to rest (even if that fan is well bigger than Hardy - can they get that guy a role too?).
What kind of person wouldn't like this?
Hardy's clearly gotten pretty swoll since his Inception days, which when combined with the actor's newly shaven head, brings to mind his appearance in the 2008 crime drama Bronson. The film focused on real-life, psychotic British criminal Charles Bronson, with an absolutely menacing and terrifying Hardy in the lead role. Swap out the moustache for a lucha mask and we're totally sold on this guy as Bane. Check out this certified 100% bad-ass clip if you don't believe us:
