Batman director Christopher Nolan confesses he counted his lucky stars when Maggie Gyllenhaal agreed to step into Katie Holmes' shoes as Rachel Dawes in new movie The Dark Knight.

"Katie wasn't available for the role, which I wasn't very happy about, but these things happen, and I was very, very fortunate that Maggie was able to take it over," Christopher says. "She's an actress that I've wanted to work with for some time."

Katie played Rachel in the 2005 film Batman Begins. In the upcoming sequel, Rachel finds herself the subject of attentionfrom both Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) and Gotham City's District Attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart).

"Maggie has a terrific energy on screen," Christopher says. "She's able to create a character who's got great warmth, great attractiveness, but is still a real person. She's not sacrificing the credibility of the reality of the character in order to create that warmth. She's able to do that very naturally. And that was very important for the character.

"You really have to believe that this character has something to offer both of these very different men. And Maggie is able to do that spectacularly well."