He's Li'l Ra's, the poor little rich boy!

Wait, that's all wrong.

Well, anyway, The Social Network's Josh Pence has been cast in The Dark Knight Rises, playing a young Ra's Al Ghul.

This is of course in stark contrast to the many reports stating outright that Ra's would not return for Christopher Nolan's third and final Batman film - a clear red herring, mistaking Liam Neeson's statements that the actor would not be reprising the role for a statement that the character, essentially an immortal, would not appear in some other fashion, in this case via a series of flashback sequences.

All this, of course, lends credence to the long-held theory that actress Marion Cotilllard's as-yet unannounced role will be that of femme fatale (and mother of Damian!), Talia Al Ghul.