We reported in the past weeks that Marion Cotillard and Joseph Gordon-Levitt were in talks to join The Dark Knight Rises. Warner Bros. has now sent out a press release announcing that both have joined the film and that Cotillard will play Talia al Ghul while Gordon-Levitt will play the gangster Roman Sionis (aka Black Mask). That puts four potential villains against Batman with Anne Hathaway cast as Selina Kyle/Catwoman and Tom Hardy as Bane. Of course, we don’t know how all of these villains will interact with each other and how much bearing they’ll have on the story, but I have to assume that you don’t get popular actors this caliber for bit parts.

Hit the jump for the full press release. The Dark Knight Rises opens July 20, 2012. [Update: This may be fake. In my rush to report Batman news that was forwarded to me, I didn’t think to check the e-mail address it originated from: “warnerbrospicturesmedia@hotmail.com”. Hit the jump for my sloppy journalism! Update 2: Definitely fake: The folks on the Nolan Fans message boards debunked the story. Update 3: Here’s an explanation of why we’re leaving this story up. ]

Here’s the fake press release:

Warner Bros. Pictures announced today that Marion Cotillard and Joseph Gordon-Levitt have been cast in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises and will join an ensemble cast alongside Christian Bale who returns in the title role of Bruce Wayne/Batman. They will play Talia al Ghul and Roman Sionis respectively. On casting Cotillard, Director Christopher Nolan stated, “I am delighted to have the opportunity to work with Marion again and have no doubt she will be a great addition to our ensemble cast and bring to life a key part of the universe we have created as we finish our story.” On the addition of Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Nolan said, “I am thrilled to be working with Joseph again after a delightful experience working with him on Inception and am certain he will deliver another thrilling performance as one of Batman’s most popular villains.” Nolan will direct the film from a screenplay he wrote with Jonathan Nolan, from a story by Christopher Nolan and David S. Goyer. Nolan will also produce the film with his longtime producing partner, Emma Thomas, and Charles Roven. The Dark Knight Rises is slated for release on July 20, 2012. The film will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

Here’s the press release when Hathaway and Hardy were officially announced. You can see that it’s quite similar.