The Dark Knight Rises

The third installation in Christopher Nolan's Batman films. It is said to go into pre-production in 2009. It is expected to be released along with 3 other DC hero films, including a rebooted Superman movie set in the same tone as Nolan's film, in the next 3 years.

Rumoured Titles

 * The Caped Crusader
 * The Shadow of the Bat
 * The Night The Batman Broke
 * The Dark Knight Returns
 * The Legend of Batman
 * Gotham City
 * Knightfall

Rumoured Villains

 * Scarecrow
 * The Riddler
 * In The Gotham Times, a viral marketing website promoting the 2008 film The Dark Knight, Edward Nashton, an alias of The Riddler, is credited for a letter to the editor titled "Dent Cannot Be Believed" in Issue 2 page 2.


 * Two-Face
 * Despite Nolan's and Eckhart's claims on his death, there are lots of rumors and hints in the film which show that he may have survived.(The Dark Knight Producer also said his fall was ambiguous enough to suggest that he may still be alive)


 * The Joker
 * Despite Heath Ledger having died on January 22, 2008,there have been claims that this has been accomplished due to archive footage.

Plot
It takes place after the events of The Dark Knight with Batman on the run from Gotham City Police. It is also rumored that Rachael Dawes has survived and become catwoman

Cast

 * Batman/Bruce Wayne - Christian Bale
 * Scarecrow - Cillian Murphy - Unconfirmed
 * The Riddler - David Tennant / Johnny Depp - Unconfirmed by Nolan, Depp, Tennant, or Warner Bros.
 * Alfred Pennyworth - Michael Caine
 * Commissioner James Gordon - Gary Oldman
 * Lucius Fox - Morgan Freeman
 * Heath Ledger archive footage - The Joker Unconfirmed

Production
Christopher Nolan only signed for two films but he is assumed to direct the third. This is now confirmed. It is said that Nolan is going to start working on it in 2009. Is said to be finished in 2010 or 2011. Christian Bale did say a couple things about not doing the movie without Nolan. But Nolan is doing the movie so Bale is doing it too.

Throwing cold water to the flaming fire, the "Blade Trinity" writer stated that they are all merely rumors stating, "It's all B.S. ALL of it." In fact, he insisted that no official talk has been done between him and Nolan about the future film plan for Batman. "Chris and I haven't even talked about it. He quite understandably is taking a long, long vacation and wants to purge himself," he explained.

Still, he also confessed that they have loosely discussed themes and ideas. "We have mused here and there [but] I mean Chris is pretty much a one movie at a time kind a guy"

"Well ... let me think how to put this. There are two things to be said. One is the emphasis on story. What’s the story? Is there a story that’s going to keep me emotionally invested for the couple of years that it will take to make another one? That’s the overriding question. On a more superficial level, I have to ask the question: How many good third movies in a franchise can people name? [Laughs.] At the same time, in taking on the second one, we had the challenge of trying to make a great second movie, and there haven't been too many of those either. It’s all about the story really. If the story is there, everything is possible. I hope that was a suitably slippery answer."

- Chris Nolan