Those rumors that Angelina Jolie was looking to play Catwoman in the third installment of Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins franchise, have sparked even more rumors , the newest ones being that studio execs over at Warner Bros. have started eyeing A-list stars Johnny Depp, and Oscar winner Philip Seymour Hoffman, to play the roles of The Riddler and The Penguin in the next Batman flick.

PLEASE TAKE THIS NEWS WITH A GRAIN OF SALT. For every new rumor of an A-list star playing one of the iconic villains from Batman’s rogue gallery, another statement pops up from Dark Knight writers David Goyer and Jonathan Nolan, claiming that they will not go the obvious route of cramming The Riddler, Penguin or Catwoman into the third film. And so, the debate goes on…

Personally, I don’t think it would too terrible a thing to have some of the more recognizable villains in BB3. After seeing Heath Ledger’s stunning take on The Joker , I could see Depp and Hoffman digging deep to deliver versions of The Riddler and Penguin that would force us to re-define the characters altogether. After all, in a fluid medium like comic books, where characters and stories can really get stale, re-definition of the status quo is what it’s all about.

For now, we’ll have to wait and see what happens with the BB3 script. However, keep in mind that, like Spiderman 3 , when a franchise gets too lucrative, studios often step in to do what they think is be$t, usually resulting in creative disaster. But let’s stay hopeful.

Would Depp and Hoffman be good choices for the roles? Rant back and let us know.