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During an interview just published on Hero Complex, Chris Nolan has revealed the title of Batman 3: it will be called "The Dark Knight Rises and it WON'T be shot in 3D (they'll shoot in IMAX format instead).

In the same interview, Nolan announced something that Batman movie fans have been debating and speculating about, ever since the end credits rolled on The Dark Knight: Nolan has stated that The Riddler will NOT be the villain featured in The Dark Knight Rises.

Check out the quote from Nolan himself that should put an end, once and for all, to all of the Riddler rumors and faux casting announcements that have stretched on for years and included everyone from Johnny Depp to Edward Norton to comedian Eddie Murphy. Said Nolan:

“It won’t be the Riddler."

So, can we all agree that this riddle has now been solved? (Sorry couldn't help myself.)

Nolan didn't reveal much else to Hero Complex, opting instead to play things close to the vest as usual, but did give the following vague and cryptic piece of information:

“We’ll use many of the same characters as we have all along, and we’ll be introducing some new ones,”

Hero Complex's Geff Boucher speculates whether or not that answer could leave room for a surprise return by Two-Face (Aaron Eckhart), which is a question we asked you about more than a year ago. Guess that debate is free to start all over again.

As for the more recent rumors of female leads being auditioned for Batman 3, Tom Hardy joining the cast and Killer Croc being the possible villain? Well, we'll just have to wait and see what develops. [We now know Bane and Catwoman will be featured in the film. More on that HERE.]

UPDATE: We may be able to clear up those Killer Croc rumors, at least, as our friends over at Think McFly are reporting that The Dark Knight Rises is in fact going to be shooting in New Orleans, the same location where DC/WB had such success shooting the upcoming Green Lantern movie.

Think McFly has clarified that Nolan and Co. will be shooting only interior set pieces at the New Orleans location, with the city of Chicago still serving as the exterior representation of Gotham City. These Killer Croc rumors rose primarily out of the assertion that Batman 3 would be using the city's Bayou locale as the basis for the Croc story; since we now know that we won't be seeing Batman combing the swamplands, having Killer Croc as the featured villain seems even more unlikely than it initially did.

The Dark Knight Rises... I think I speak for a lot of fans when I say I'm disappointed in that title. The great thing about Batman Begins and The Dark Knight is that their titles are indicative of two standalone stories which each had their own respective themes and identities.

Indeed, there's been much debate in the years since TDK where fans have expressed their pleasure/displeasure with the differences between the two films - and there is certainly a strong contingent of Batheads who felt TDK was completely different in feel than BB, and favored one film over the other.

I say all that to say: The Dark Knight Rises feels like a straight-up sequel, rather than a standalone entry in the Nolan Batman universe. That's not to say the finished film will be that way, but for now, that is the implication I'm getting. Silver lining: if  Catwoman turns out to be the villain, we'll have plenty of "Dark Knight Rising" jokes to crack ;-) .

How about you: do you like the title The Dark Knight Rises? Do you think the movie sounds like your average sequel rather than a new Batman experience? How do you feel about the Riddler being out of the mix?

TDKR will go into production next year and is slated to hit theaters in the summer of 2012.

Source: Hero Complex

Update Source: Think McFly

Featured Image Source: PolishTank48 @ DeviantArt