While it's incredibly annoying when fan art gets passed around and labeled "official," it's one of my favorite parts of waiting for superhero movies. Not all of the work is top notch, but there's something great about an impassioned fanbase connecting to material through artistic means. In the run up to Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises, for example, a Batman enthusiast decided to throw together this poster, which uses a promotional image from the movie The Collector as a stand-in for Bane, whom Tom Hardy is playing in the film. Now it seems that life is strangely imitating art.

Josh Stewart, known for his role as Arkin in The Collector and parts in television shows like Criminal Minds and No Ordinary Family, has joined the cast of The Dark Knight Rises, according to Variety. Much like many of his co-stars, it's unknown what role he will be playing in the movie. The final film in Nolan's Batman trilogy is currently in production, filming in London. Other newcomers to the series include Hardy, Anne Hathaway, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard, Josh Pence, Juno Temple, Matthew Modine, Tom Conti, Joey King, Brett Cullen, Chris Ellis, Daniel Sunjata, Diego Klattenhoff and Burn Gorman.

Sure, Stewart isn't the guy on the poster (in all likelihood that's his co-star, Juan Fernández), but it's still a pretty funny coincidence. I'm also still stunned by the number of actors Nolan is getting to star in this film. July 20, 2012 cannot get here soon enough.