Cher, the 62-year-old entertainer who has achieved great success as both a singer and an actress, is reportedly in talks to play Catwoman opposite Christian Bale's [Images] Batman in the third instalment of Christopher Nolan's Batman series.

In the past, Catwoman, a whip-wielding burglar, has been played by Michelle Pfeiffer [Images] and Halle Berry [Images]. Cher, who won an Oscar for Best Actress in 1987's Moon [Images] Struck, joins a star-studded cast that includes Johnny Depp [Images], who will play The Riddler.

'Cher is Nolan's first choice to play Catwoman. He wants to her to portray her like a vamp in her twilight years. The new Catwoman will be the absolute opposite of Michelle Pfeiffer and Halle Berry's purring creations,' The Daily Telegraph (UK) quoted a studio executive as saying.

Nolan has enjoyed great success thus far, resurrecting the franchise with first Batman Begins and now The Dark Knight.

Filming for the next movie -- rumoured to be titled The Caped Crusader -- will reportedly begin in Vancouver early 2009.

Photograph: Valerie Macon/Getty Images