Knightley, Portman, Hathaway eye roles in Batman

Hollywood actresses Keira Knightley, Natalie Portman, Anne Hathaway and Rachel Weisz are competing with one another to play the leads in the new "Batman" movie.

Director Christopher Nolan is on the hunt for two leading ladies -- a vamp and a love interest for Christian Bale's Bruce Wayne for the third instalment of the Batman franchise titled "The Dark Knight Rises".

Blake Lively and Naomi Watts are also being considered for the roles, reports contactmusic.com

Reports also suggest that actor Tom Hardy will play Batman's foe in the film, which is the follow-up to the 2008 "The Dark Knight".