The mega-successful and critically acclaimed Dark Knight had hardly hit theaters last year and already there was high anticipation (at least in the geek/online movie circles) for Batman 3. We have heard rumor after rumor after rumor about the third installment, including everything from Christopher Nolan not returning to Eddie Murphy playing The Riddler (I would have given up on life if that latter one was true), all turning out to have a distinctive lack of truth to them.

One of the biggest desires of Batman fans is that Nolan comes back to direct, since he did such a good job with the last two Bat-films, breathing fresh life into an effectively dead franchise with Batman Begins and knocking just about everyone’s socks off with The Dark Knight. But will he come back to direct the third? Well, we’re still not sure, but “a solid and longtime source” over at the usually reliable Batman-On-Film says that Warner Bros. will finalize plans for Batman 3 in January of next year.

This just in! Charlize Theron wouldn’t mind playing Catwoman in the sequel to the second highest grossing film of all time, The Dark Knight. Well that entire last sentence would qualify for a big, fat “DUH!” Can you tell me one person that wouldn’t say “Yes” to star in a billion dollar franchise if asked? Megan Fox was recently rumored to be playing the feminine milk-drinking feline villain a few weeks ago but Warner Bros. execs were quick to shoot that down. It’s not a direct quote but I think the press release said something like, “Um, Hell No!”

Yesterday we found out that Warner Bros. has created DC Entertainment Inc. (DCE) to better expand the DC Comics into a multimedia brand of steel . Now comes the inevitable question of “What’s the game plan?”

MTV Splash Page posted a nice piece declaring which DC properties should be put on fast-track under the DCE banner, and this being Friday and all, I thought I’d once again do a little call-and-response on the topic (I now consider Splash Page’s Josh Wigler to be something of a pen-pal).

So in response to the call, here’s my take on the DC Entertainment venture and what paths it should be considering…

After the Disney/Marvel merger DC Comics and longtime-partner Warner Bros. had to be shaking in their boots. “The House of the Mouse” is already looking like a force that few will likely be able to reckon with.

Well, in an effort to become one of those few forces able to take on Disney/Marvel, Nikke Finke reports that Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. has launched a new division, DC Entertainment Inc., in order to better expand the DC Brand.

Marvel fanboys have already been having heart palpitations wondering what the fate of their favorite characters will be in the hands of Disney. Now DC fans can officially share in that anxiety.

We here at Screen Rant recently asked the question, “What Will Batman 3 Be About?” The third installment of Christopher Nolan’s Batman franchise is easily one of the most anticipated sequels ever – as evidenced by the HUGE outpouring of reader reaction our article is STILL receiving.

Out of the 350+ comments left by you Batman fans, two clear points of debate raged longest and hardest throughout the thread of discussion. After seeing the sparks of that debate, we thought it only fitting that we should fan it into a brush fire. So, without further ado I now ask:

Should Two-Face and The Joker be brought back for Batman 3?

Harry Knowles posted up a very interesting story yesterday on Ain’t It Cool News about the future of the Batman franchise and more specifically, what could happen with the eagerly anticipated Batman 3.

Remember the few beautiful scenes in The Dark Knight that were shot in IMAX? What if the next movie was entirely shot like that?

Sure sign that you’re a smash-hit as a Hollywood director: people start analyzing every move you make. A lot of bloggers have been doing just that to Chris Nolan, ever since the first doubts arose about the acclaimed director returning to the Batman franchise after The Dark Knight.

When Nolan announced that his next film after Dark Knight was going to be the sci-fi thriller Inception, people were like, “Ok, he wants to do something non-Batman for a minute, that’s cool.” However, when word started circling that Nolan was also eyeing a big-screen adaptation of the 60s TV series The Prsioner, people started getting worried that Batman 3 was either a long way off or that the film was moving ahead without Nolan.

Now comes word that Christopher Nolan has left the The Prisoner, leading people to immediately jump to the conclusion that Batman 3 is the reason.

In the last month or so, there have been rumblings that Batman Begins and The Dark Knight director Chris Nolan might not return to finish off the bat-trilogy many had assumed he would be a part of until the end. Nolan himself has said in the past that it would take one hell of a strong story and excellent script to lure him back to Gotham City after the crowning achievement (and arduous labor) that was The Dark Knight.

David S. Goyer, story writer of Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, has been a little more glib about the progress of Batman 3 (as it’s being called), telling a crowd at Comic-Con that “Bat-musings” were currently in the works.

As writers wrack their brains, and directors question if there is any creative juice left in the tank, and all this drama unfolds before the inevitable and unstoppable release of the next Bat-sequel, I find myself wondering: At this point, is the plot of Batman 3 really that much of a mystery?

A few days ago Gary Oldman, while on The Book of Eli panel at Comic-Con in San Diego, let a rather big piece of “news” slip: that the sequel to The Dark Knight, which is being referred to as Batman 3 (until titled otherwise) would be shooting next year.

However, later Mr. Oldman recanted his rather brash and out-of-left-field statement when he told Ain’t It Cool News, “Well, I’m sure they want to do another one… it might [be] 2 or 3 years…”

[UPDATE: It seems that Mr. Oldman has backpedaled on his statement. According to Quint at AinItCool.com Oldman said "well, I'm sure they want to do another one... it might 2 or 3 years..."]

Live from the 2009 San Diego Comic-Con, Screen Rant Editor-In-Chief Vic Holtreman has some major news about Christopher Nolan’s next Batman film.

There hasn’t been much news revolving around Batman 3 as of late, but Batman-On-Film has an article shaking fanboys to their core. It involves Christopher Nolan and whether or not he’ll be at the helm of the next installment.

As you can imagine, Warner Bros. would desperately want Nolan to return – but the deal isn’t a given. Co-writers David S. Goyer and Jonathan Nolan said they would have to convince Chris again; since The Dark Knight was his first sequel ever, asking the director to make it a trilogy is another task entirely–a task that might nearly be impossible.

People who are dying for Christopher Nolan to come back for another Batman movie need not fret – this isn’t news that he isn’t coming back. But rather Batman himself, Christian Bale, saying that he has to do another one even if Nolan doesn’t come back (which, let’s not forget, is entirely a possibility).

In an interview with Total Film recently, Bale gave his latest thoughts on the next Batman movie, commenting on such things as his being tied to the franchise (for now, anyway), how Nolan might not come back and that the next movie should be just as good as the last one.

Here’s what Bale had to say:

Cillian Murphy, Marion Cotillard and Ellen Page are in talks to join Leonardo DiCaprio in Christopher Nolan’s forthcoming science fiction epic, Inception.

The film is described as a ”contemporary sci-fi actioner set within the architecture of the mind.” What that means is anybody’s guess but with Nolan involved I can only imagine that it will be intriguing and not your usual simplified Hollywood product.

Rumors about casting on Batman 3 have been circling the internet since before the release of The Dark Knight – everything from Eddie Murphy as The Riddler to Cher as Catwoman have been mentioned so far.

The latest (and from my perspective, the dumbest) is that Christian Bale has been dumped as Batman / Bruce Wayne and his replacement will be none other than his Terminator Salvation co-star Sam Worthington.

It’s the most important day in the movie calendar – and that’s just not because it’s time for the Weekend Movie News Wrap Up but it’s also Oscar night!

This week:

Tyler Perry tops the box office; Wes Craven talks Scream 4; The Dark Knight is mildly successful; Ashton Kutcher and Katherine Heigel know Five Killers (hint – it’s not their last few movies); Sandra Bullock has a Blindside (it’s the only reason for Hope Floats) and Martin Lawrence goes Back To Africa.

Directing giant Christopher Nolan has signed on to direct an original screenplay he wrote called Inception for Warner Brothers.  The script is described as a sci-fi action film and described as “a contemporary sci-fi actioner set within the architecture of the mind.” I certainly hope that doesn’t mean the film is going to be anything like the tragedy that was The Cell.

The wheels of a sequel to The Dark Knight have only barely started turning, and yet Warner Bros. has already set its sights a bit further on than that.

Word is they are hoping for the newly rejuvenated Batman franchise to pull a Harry Potter and have sequel after sequel.

WB CEO Jeff Bewkes spoke out today on the company’s hopes for multiple sequels:

For a while there after the release of The Dark Knight there seemed to be no information about the next one – would Nolan be back to direct? When is it getting made and when will it come out? Who will be the villain and who will play them? Questions with no answers abound – but we finally got our first glimpse of what’s going on the other day when Executive Producer Michael Uslan hinted at what year of release they’re shooting for.

Straight after just about everyone on the planet saw The Dark Knight, we all thought (amongst praising the hell out of the thing) about when the inevitable sequel was going to get made. And there have been rumors abounding ranging from who will play the villain(s) to Christopher Nolan holding out on signing on the dotted line to get a bigger paycheck. But of course these were all rumors, even if some people out there took them as truth.

Well it seems we might have our first real glimpse as to what’s happening with a sequel via an interview with executive producer of The Dark Knight Michael Uslan (who will be back for the sequel):

On the red carpet of last night’s Golden Globes, MTV News caught up with Aaron Eckhart and brought up his portrayal of Harvey “Two-Face” Dent. Apart from his past rhetoric, he had something new to say. And that “something new” could be something big for the chapter after The Dark Knight.

[Spoiler Alert: If you're one of the three people that haven't seen this movie yet, do not read any further. If you are, I'm sorry. And if I could suggest a small piece of advice, go see the movie!]

Contrary to his previous interviews and statements, Eckhart had a different answer to the Two-Face question. He said the following after quite a bit of laughing and a few “knowing” smiles.

In this Weeks Weekend Movie News Wrap Up::

Clint Eastwood drives to the top of the box office with Gran Torino; Ewan McGregor is Pierce Brosnan’s Ghost; Sienna Miller will not be visiting Nottingham; Morricone is not a Basterd; Moore, Neeson and Seyfried know Chloe; the Joker may have the last laugh in Batman 3 and Farrell, Weir and Harris are on their Way Back.

People always love to run wild with rumors, no matter how ridiculous they may seem. And one of the movies that has been getting and will undoubtedly continue to get rumors kicked around is for the sequel to the much loved The Dark Knight, known for the time being as simply Batman 3.

But I don’t think any amount of past rumors could prepare you for the ridiculousness of the one that the UK’s The Sun newspaper has reported: that Eddie Murphy will play The Riddler! I think this is easily a flat-out false piece of news (it was posted on the newspaper’s Bizarre Movie News page so perhaps it was intended as a joke?). This is so out there that there’s no way it’s true.

Earlier today, Screen Rant big-cheese Vic Holtreman gave a status report update on Batman 3. And our very own Kofi Outlaw reported on the news of Terminator 5 being greenlit – this despite the fact that the upcoming fourth installment Terminator: Salvation won’t hit theaters until Memorial Day weekend, 2009.

What’s interesting is both eventual sequels share the same lead actor:

Christian Bale.

Earlier this morning I read a comment from a reader begging for an update on the follow up to The Dark Knight (Batman 3? Not sure what to call it…), so here you go.

Despite the fact that director Chris Nolan has been making some noises indicating he’s not sure he wants to do a third Batman movie the rumor mill is saying that it’s a done deal and he will indeed return.

Besides the Terrence Howard/Iron Man 2 story, it’s kind of a slow news day, so you know what that means… Time for another Catwoman casting rumor for Batman 3!

Batman-On-Film has run a story about Rhona Mitra being potentially, Catwoman. “In the mix” is the term they used, citing legitimate sources “that some ‘people’ were impressed by her turn in Doomsday.”

In other breaking news, water is apparently wet, the sky is blue and ice cream is in fact delicious!

Talking to the MTV Movies Blog, David Goyer (who wrote Batman Begins and The Dark Knight along with director Christopher Nolan and his brother Jonathon) reveals that none of the God-only-knows-how-many rumors regarding Batman 3 are true.

That’s right, ladies and germs. Nolan has not yet signed on to helm the third Batman installment (the last in a proposed trilogy), pre-production won’t start early in 2009 and no actor(s) have been cast to play Bat’s latest advasary. As Goyer explains:

Welcome to another news filled edition of the Weekend Movie News Wrap Up.

This week:

We check out the weekend box office; Steven Seagal ponders Under Seige 3, Men In Black 3 is a possible threat; Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro Paint Houses; Yogi Bear is coming to a cinema near you; we hear how long Watchmen runs and has Nolan signed for Batman 3?

This is the final part in a 3 part series covering the history of Batman. You can read part one here and part two here.

1995 saw Joel Schumacher take the directing reins with Batman Forever. Recasting Batman, with the younger and more athletic Val Kilmer – this version of Batman was more child-friendly and commercial, right down to Jim Carrey’s casting as The Riddler. An introduction of Robin also helped to lighten the character and Tommy Lee Jone’s Two-Face was a half-lightened version of his comic character. Financially more successful than Batman Returns it appeared Schumacher’s neon lit Gotham City was what enthusiasts of the franchise desired.

Then he delivered Batman and Robin.

This is the second in a 3 part series covering the history of Batman. You can read part one here.

In 1966 Batman was given a shot in the arm by the hit Pop Art inspired television series that is still iconic today. Starring Adam West and Burt Ward as Batman and Robin, as well as a wealth of guest stars including Caesar Romero, Frank Gorshin, Julie Newmar and even horror icon, Vincent Price, Batman was a show that was watched and treasured by adults and children alike. Bright colours and Dutch angles peppered the show, as well as the thunderous and vivid onomatopoeic cries of “Pow”, “Bam” and “Biff.”

[UPDATE: If you missed the live show, you can download it here or grab it over at /Film.com.]

I thought that today I’d give you more advanced notice (warning?). Tonight I’ll be joining the gang from /Film again for their /FilmCast Live.

You can join in on the show live or download it in a day or two when it’s online (but the live version is MUCH more fun, including flubs and outtakes that won’t be in the final version).

It will start at 7PM PST/10PM EST tonight (Monday, Spetember 8th).

We’ll be discussing the abysmal Nicolas Cage film Bangkok Dangerous, Ghostbusters 3 plus the Batman 3 and crazy Captain America casting rumors.

So if you’re a Screen Rant regular visitor and want to join in on the fun, head on over and give a listen: /FilmCast Live.