Anne Hathaway - Hathaway Is The Cat Who Got The Cream As New Catwoman

ANNE HATHAWAY has beaten competition from SIENNA MILLER, CHARLIZE THERON and KATE BECKINSALE to land the coveted role of comic book villain CATWOMAN in the new BATMAN movie.

A slew of Hollywood actresses were clawing at the opportunity to play the feline femme fatale after movie bosses announced plans for The Dark Knight Rises - the follow-up to 2008 blockbuster The Dark Knight.

But it will be Hathaway who climbs into the sexy catsuit to bring back Catwoman for the next installment of the superhero franchise in a role previously played by Michelle Pfeiffer in 1992's Batman Returns, and again by Halle Berry in a 2004 spin-off of the Caped Crusader movies.

Christian Bale will reprise his role as Batman.

Warner Bros. bosses, who made the announcement on Wednesday (19Jan11), also revealed Tom Hardy will play Batman's other villain Bane.

Filmmaker Christopher Nolan, who directed Hardy in Inception, says: "I am delighted to be working with Tom again and excited to watch him bring to life our new interpretation of one of Batman's most formidable enemies."