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A judge and a priest walk onto a film stage 鈥� under normal circumstances this set-up might sound like the beginning of a joke but, this time, it鈥檚 just the next piece of The Dark Knight Rises鈥� seemingly perpetual casting process.

Director Christopher Nolan added two more cast-members today to his final Batman installment 鈥� in the form of Brett Cullen and Chris Ellis. The pair will play a judge and priest, respectively in .

Even without an , Warner Bros. has enjoyed loads of high-profile buzz, rivaled only by Lionsgate鈥檚 announcements, that鈥檚 followed the non-stop torrent of Dark Knight Rises casting additions which so far include: (Bane), (Selina Kyle/Catwoman), (Miranda Tate), (a street-smart gal), (spoilerish flashback character), (John Blake), and (a mad scientist) with as well as in unspecified roles (most likely cops and/or robbers).

It seems as if everyone is eager to pad their superhero film resume and hop on board the third Batman film as, according to , Brett Cullen (Goodwin on ) and Chris Ellis (Admiral Brigham in ), each a relatively well-known character actor, have signed-on as well for a pair of marginal parts in the next tale from Gotham City. Cullen will fit-into the plot serving as a court judge with Ellis serving God as a man of the cloth.

Nolan has never given us reason to doubt his methods, or his madness, but there鈥檚 no denying that The Dark Knight Rises is overstuffed with recognizable names. While it鈥檚 unlikely that the sm枚rg氓sbord of well-known faces will disrupt any scenes between the characters, there鈥檚 no doubt that it could be one of the largest ensemble casts in superhero film, if not general film, history.

That said, the real winner here is the marketing department who has managed to keep The Dark Knight Rises in the headlines 鈥� even when announcing casting for what would normally be marginal parts. Who鈥檚 playing the hot dog salesman in ? What about the army recruiting officer in ? Don鈥檛 know? Neither do we 鈥� because, at the time, movie studios didn鈥檛 feel compelled to announce parts like that 鈥� even if a great character actors like Cullen or Ellis were attached to the roles.

Either way, there鈥檚 no doubt that moviegoers and movie-insiders are always hungry for high-profile casting news 鈥� so expect a similar barrage of content when gets farther along in production. If nothing else, Nolan and Co. should be commended for unleashing their casting announcements during the workweek (unlike fellow DC-inspired ).

Follow me on Twitter @ 鈥� and let us know what other actors or actresses you鈥檇 like to see in The Dark Knight Rises.

The Dark Knight Rises hits theaters on July 20th, 2012.

Source:

Ben Kendrick blogs at .

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