The casting rumors for the next Batman film have now officially gotten ridiculous. The latest rumor, courtesy of British tabloid The Sunday Mirror, states that Chrstopher Nolan's choice to be the villain in the sequel to The Dark Knight is Cher, taking over the role of Catwoman.

According to the report, a studio executive said "Cher is Nolan's first choice to play Catwoman. He wants her to portray her like a vamp in her twilight years. The new Catwoman will be the absolute opposite of Michelle Pfeiffer and Halle Berry's purring creations."

The report also seems to confirm that Johnny Depp would be a part of the cast, in the role of the Riddler.

Now, it certainly seems possible that Nolan will take whichever Batman villain he chooses for the third movie in a totally original direction. After all, while his characterizations of Ra's Al Ghul, the Scarecrow, the Joker and Two-Face have all been excellent, they've been significantly different from their comic-book counterparts. Still, it seems unlikely that Nolan would divorce Catwoman so far from her roots in the comic and previous adaptations, so take this one with a hefty dose of skepticism.