Generally, the fans of Batman believe the Joker to be the match for Batman. However, Bane is not only stronger than the Joker, he’s also more deadly.

According to “The Dark Knight Rises” producer Emma Thomas, Bane is the most formidable opponent Batman has faced. She said Bane, played by Tom Hardy, is “finally a match” for Batman, played by Christian Bale.

“Tom made a massive physical transformation for the role,” she said to Total Film. “It really is an intense performance. He finally feels like a match for Batman–both physically and mentally.”

She also talked about Hardy and Bale’s on-and-off screen personas. “Christian Bale and Tom Hardy are both such fiercely committed actors that pitching them as adversaries works incredibly well–they have such a great chemistry on camera.”

With so much talk about how physically intense Bane is going to be, I’m getting more and more excited to see just how the rivalry between him and Batman will play out.

You can read the rest of the interview in the latest issue of Total Film, which hits newsstands Feb. 16.

“The Dark Knight Rises” also stars Anne Hathaway, Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman, Michael Caine, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard and Liam Neeson. The film will be out in theaters July 20.

Written by: Monique Jones