Last night the trailer for the Batman: Arkham City (the sequel to 2009's Batman: Arkham Asylum) video game premiered at Spike's Video Game Awards. The main villain in this trailer is Dr. Hugo Strange. As Batman-News.com first reported back in November, it's rumored that Tom Hardy will be playing Hugo Strange in The Dark Knight Rises.
Hugo Strange was introduced in the comics even before The Joker or Catwoman. He's appeared in animated Batman TV shows, but is not well known to the "mainstream" audience. Arkham City is one of 2011's most anticipated video games, and would be a great way to introduce a wide audience to Hugo Strange. By introducing Strange in a video game, Warner Bros. will also get people excited to see the character on screen in The Dark Knight Rises.
On the other hand...this type of synergy between Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and Warner Bros. Pictures would have to include Christopher Nolan's participation. Nolan is the type of director who likes to keep things close to the chest. Warner Bros. didn't even get their hands on the script until last week. It's hard to believe that Nolan would have told Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment that he planned to use Hugo Strange as the villain in The Dark Knight Rises.
Still, Warner Bros. is a business, and topping The Joker from The Dark Knight is no easy task. By introducing Hugo Strange in 2011, and then bringing him to life on screen in 2012, perhaps you tone down the "can you top The Joker" talk and get people excited for a character that's never been seen before. We still don't even know if Hugo Strange will be in The Dark Knight Rises, but all recent rumors point to 'yes'. So what do you guys think? Is Hugo Strange's appearance in Arkham City a coincidence, or is it all...part of the plan? Check out the trailer for Arkham City after the break and let me know what you think in the comments!
