We didn't know much about Christopher Nolan's post-The Dark Knight mystery movie known as Inception early last year, other than its stellar cast and a story we knew would be a mind-bending thriller. We did expect good things though, but I don't think anyone expected it to achieve the success it did.

Warner Bros. was very smart in giving Nolan the time and money he wanted to work on what some thought was not a bankable idea. Now Inception sits with over $820 million earned at the worldwide box office and 8 Oscar nominations. So, when are they going to make a sequel?

In Hollywood, money leads to ... more money, so even though many viewers firmly believe Inception stands strongest by itself and ends where it needs to, there are others who would pay to see just love the idea of seeing all of those characters work together again on another thrilling adventure. Some of the cast members expressed interest in a sequel when working press events after Inception released to the masses, but it will all come down to Chris Nolan. We can say now however, that the cast is signed on for sequels.

Last night we talked about Tom Hardy's upcoming role as the Batman villain Bane in Nolan's next major project, The Dark Knight Rises, based on some tidbits Hardy dropped in his appearance on yesterday's airing of the British talk show, Alan Carr: Chatty Man. In that same interview, they talked about the success of Inception and whether a sequel is possible. Hardy explained that, like all studio films nowadays, the cast is signed for Inception sequels.

It's  standard studio policy to sign actors with options for franchise sequels, just to avoid that potential financial mess that agents and talent can cause knowing they were a part of a successful film and desire a much bigger chunk to return. If Christopher Nolan wanted to do a sequel, there's no doubt the cast would get in line to return. If you earn a spot in a Nolan film, you're in the A-leagues. At this point, he's open to working on Inception 2, it's just not something he's thinking about at the moment. From an interview in December, Nolan said “It’s not something I want to say no to, but it’s not something I’ve given a lot of thought about.”

For now, we'll look forward to the Inception video game. If you're still confused about the movie's conclusion, read our explanation of Inception ending.

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The Dark Knight Rises in theaters on July 20, 2012.

Source: Alan Carr: Chatty Man