he signed for the 3rd sequel early October 2008. & thats where went "Production Weekly" (Film and television production tracking information for the entertainment industry) announced that Christopher Nolan as the official director for the dark knight sequel along with the rest of returning cast from batman begins & the dark knight which is Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman & Gary Oldman.

OIC.

Im glad they're back for the 3rd film.

and to hell with all these Jolie/Deep as CW/Riddler rumors, sorry folks!

‘Batman 3’ Update: Christopher Nolan & David Goyer ‘Talking,’ Says ‘Dark Knight’ Producer

During last night’s People’s Choice Awards, “The Dark Knight” producer Chuck Roven cleared up some of the speculation surrounding the sequel to the celebrated Batman blockbuster, telling MTV that director Christopher Nolan and writer David Goyer are indeed “talking and thinking” about the next film

While Roven’s comments seem to indicate that Nolan and Goyer will be returning for the sequel (Nolan was noncommittal to a “Dark Knight” sequel in the past, and Goyer declared any and all sequel rumors “B.S.” back in October), it doesn’t address the two questions most comics fans are dying to know the answers to: What villains will appear in the film and who will play them?

Well, there could be at least one clue in Roven’s response.

“We have to separate the actors from the role,” said Roven when asked whether they would’ve done anything different with Heath Ledger’s villainous Joker if they knew the actor wouldn’t be reprising the role.

“On a personal level, Heath was a friend of mine. We had worked together before ‘The Dark Knight,’ but I still think that ‘The Dark Knight’ is its own thing, and we have to separate them,” added Roven.

Could that mean they’re open to re-casting The Joker? Will we see The Clown Prince of Crime return for the “Dark Knight” sequel? Keep an eye on Splash Page for more “Dark Knight” sequel news as it develops!

What do you think about Roven’s comments? What do they mean for the “Dark Knight” sequel? Tell us what you think in the comment section!

BREAKING: ‘Dark Knight’ Star Aaron Eckhart Hints At Possible Two-Face Return

In the past, Aaron Eckhart has had no problems stating matter-of-factly that Two-Face was done for, telling SuperHeroHype back in September that his character was as “dead as a doornail.” Well…maybe not that dead.

When MTV News caught up with “The Dark Knight” star on the Golden Globes red carpet, he was notably less fatalistic about the possibility of reprising his role as Harvey Dent/Two-Face in a sequel to the record-breaking film.

“I think Harvey — if he’s not dead — is in a serious coma,” stated Eckhart, “and I’m not sure he’s coming out. They might pull the plug on him.” Seemingly firm words, right? Except even the notion that his alter-ego is still alive is a clear departure from previous statements where the actor was perfectly fine confirming Harvey’s death at the business end of a freefalling drop.

We know from our recent interview with producer Charles Roven that screenwriters Christopher Nolan and David Goyer have begun brainstorming ideas for a third “Batman” film…could something out of that have led to Eckhart’s about-face on Two-Face? His wink-wink-nod-nod answer seems to suggest that something else may be at play.

Like all good mysteries, the answer is murky and open to interpretation. So tell us what you think. Do Eckhart’s comments — and the way he delivered them — mean we should still believe in Harvey Dent? Tell us what you think in the comments below.

'Dark Knight' producer was 'just a kid from Jersey'

Behind every dream project is a dreamer and in the case of "The Dark Knight," that dreamer was Michael Uslan.

Born in Bayonne and raised in Asbury Park, Uslan has spent the last three decades as Batman's biggest booster. Since acquiring the rights to the superhero from DC Comics back in 1979, Uslan has executive produced all of the Caped Crusader movies from "Batman" (1989) to "The Dark Knight" (2008).

It was his insistence that dignity be restored to the Bat which is credited with helping turn the latest entry in the series into a world-wide phenomenon. Last year, "The Dark Knight" notched $997 million at the box-office and surpassed "Star Wars" to become the second highest-grossing film of all time. ("Titanic" still holds the top spot with $1.8 billion in earnings.)

As a way of celebrating "The Dark Knight's" Oscar nominations, the film swooped back into movie theaters on Friday. As far as Uslan is concerned, the interest from the Motion Picture Academy is "vindication" for geeks all over the world.

"All of the attention we've received is proof positive that comic books are something people should no longer look down their noses at," he says. "Comic books are as legitimate a form of literature as plays or novels."

Uslan was barely 3 years old when he read his first comic book. He remembers being taken by his dad for a haircut to Red's Barbershop on Asbury Ave. and noticing a stack of comics in the corner. Five years later, Uslan became a bona-fide collector, carefully preserving every last one of his "Archie" and "Casper" books.

But it wasn't until Uslan discovered the Collingswood Auction and Flea Market that his collection really began to flourish.

"They had this back-date magazine seller from New York who came in with old, old comics which he sold to us for five cents apiece," says Uslan, whose Branded Entertainment company is based in Cedar Grove, where he lives with Nancy, his wife of 35 years, and their two children, Sarah, 24 and David, 28.

By the time Uslan graduated from Ocean Township High School in 1969, he had amassed more than 30,000 books, including scores of rare "Superman" and "Captain Marvel" issues. "My dad, God bless him, never got a car in our garage ever again," he says.

From the time he was 8 years old, it was Batman who held sway over Uslan's imagination.

"Batman has no superpowers so I could identify with him much more so than with Superman, Spider-Man or the Hulk," says Uslan, 57. "His greatest superpower is his humanity -- when I was a kid, I thought that if I studied hard, worked out and if my dad brought me a really cool car, I could be Batman."

Batman might have taken control of Uslan's fantasy life but, in the real world, his heroes were his hard-working parents. Dad Joseph was a mason who inspired his son to make a living doing what he loved.

"My dad built some of the most magnificent homes up and down the Jersey Shore," says Uslan. "He was an Old World craftsman, a real artist. He worked six days a week from the ages of 16 to 80. He'd jump out of bed every morning with a big smile on his face because he absolutely loved what he did."

Uslan's mom Lillian never let her son forget that once he made a commitment, he was obligated to stick to it. Uslan's stubborn steak came in handy in the 1980s when he found doors being slammed in his face by every studio in Hollywood. Nobody in the movie business thought Batman had a future on the big screen.

"I was just a kid from Jersey who had no relatives in the industry," says Uslan, who, at Indiana University, taught one of the first accredited college courses on comic books. "I didn't come from money. All I had was this self-confidence instilled in me by two (Ocean Township) teachers (Eleanor Stiller and Rita Friedman) and this crazy dream."

The dream, says Uslan, was a simple one. "I wanted to bring to the screen a definitive version of Batman -- dark, serious, the way he was originally conceived in 1939 as a creature of the night who would stalk criminals in the shadows. I wanted to erase from the hearts and minds of the world the words "pow,' "zap' and "wham.' "

While Uslan's first "Batman" film starring Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson almost single-handedly revolutionized comic book movies, "The Dark Knight" raised the bar even higher.

"It's not just a great comic book film, it's a great film," says Uslan who also produced "The Spirit" and has three more films in various stages of development, including "The Shadow," "Doc Savage" and the Captain Marvel feature "Billy Batson and the Legend of Shazam." "When I first saw "The Dark Knight,' I was so happy I wanted to cry."

Uslan will be onboard as executive producer for the "Dark Knight" sequel, which he estimates will be theaters by 2011. As for the identity of the next round of Batman's supervillains and love interests, Uslan remains tight-lipped. "It's one of those deals where if I told you, I'd have to kill you," he says with a chuckle.

IESB Exclusive: Third BATMAN Film in Script Stage

The IESB was tipped off this week that the script for the third Batman film is already underway.

IESB was told by an extremely reliable source that the project has already gone into the writing stage with Christopher Nolan, Jonathan Nolan and David Goyer all hard at work.

When Jeff Otto, representing IESB, got the chance to talk to producer Chuck Roven today, he jumped at the chance to confirm...of course Roven wasn't going to say much and was very evasive but he did do a good song and dance performance,

IESB: We've been told that Jonathan, Chris and David are working on the new Batman script. Do you know the direction they’re going or do you wait for them to formulate something more complete before you get involved?

Chuck Roven: The creative driver of the project at this point is Chris. There’s really nothing more for me to say about that. When he feels that he’s got something to talk about, then we’ll be able to talk about it.

IESB: I know you can’t tell us who the villain or villains are, but do you personally know?

[Big smile and a laugh] CR: I really don’t want to talk about that project right now.

We've double checked and we are definitely hearing the script is being written as we speak.

It's common knowledge THE DARK KNIGHT was one of the biggest films of the decade with nominations coming in left and right, a third film in the franchise is a slam-dunk.

We'll keep our ears to the ground on this one!

Warner Bros Wants Seven Batman Movies



While the sequel to The Dark Knight is just in the beginning stages of development, Warner Bros is already looking much further down the line. During today’s Time Warner earnings call, CEO Jeff Bewkes compared the Batman series to the Harry Potter film franchise, saying that they hope to release a long line of sequels.

“We look at Harry Potter. It’s fantastic to have franchises that last that long. We want to do that with Batman and Superman and perhaps Sherlock Holmes. The sequels are as good, with new characters added, as were the originals. That wasn’t the case in the years ago. Warners has more tentpoles as an on-going strategy taht very much lifts its distribution and performance. We think that’s going to hold up our slate in the 2009 - 2010 period. We’ve got four more big tentpoles coming this year.”

I kinda get the impression that if Christopher Nolan does a third Batman film, it will probably be his last. He seems like a filmmaker that wants to move on to his own passion projects, and while Warner Bros has been very patient with him in regards to a Dark Knight sequel, the studio/company is clearly looking much further down the line. Warner Bros wants to make a lot more Batman movies? I know, this is a pretty obvious story, but it’s the first time that Time Warner/Warner Bros has said publicly that they are looking beyond the next film.

I know Zack Snyder has expressed interest in filming an adaptation of The Dark Knight Returns, and even got Frank Miller’s blessing at Comic Con last year. If Nolan isn’t interested in making a fourth Batman film, I would love to see Warner Bros take the leap and do the alternative future story with Snyder in the director’s seat. That way you could give the A-team (cast and crew) behind the Batman Begins, The Dark Knight and Batman 3 a break and still make another Batman flick. Sounds like a much better idea than possibility tanting the franchise with a Justice League movie featuring a recast younger Bruce Wayne

Batman 3 Script Scoop
The lowdown on Christopher Nolan's involvement.

US, February 17, 2009 - IGN Movies has learned that, as of right now, Christopher Nolan is the only screenwriter attached to Batman 3.

Studios and guild members are required to submit work lists to the guilds of the projects that they are on. IGN has learned that a work list from Warner Bros. was submitted last week listing Christopher Nolan as the sole screenwriter on Batman 3.

From what we've learned, The Dark Knight's Jonathan Nolan or David Goyer aren't officially involved in the script phase as of yet.

In related news, Batman-on-Film says it's heard from three separate sources that "Nolan's recent deal with Warner Bros. for the film Inception, at least includes an agreement between the studio and the acclaimed director to helm his second sequel to Batman Begins."

anyone of u watched the animated batman gotham?

It would really be awesome if the dude with the sniper rifle be the next villain

Sam Worthington tipped to replace Christian Bale as Batman



SAM Worthington, the Aussie actor about to shoot into the stratosphere with his performance in Terminator Salvation, is being tipped as the next Batman.

Sam Worthington's fame is set to explode in the US with the May release of Terminator Salvation, and again in December when James Cameron's Avatar is released in cinemas.

Cameron, also the creator of Terminator, says he is the breakout star of both films.

Industry gossip now suggests the rising Australian star could score the part of Batman in the third instalment of the successful prequel franchise.

That could mean replacing Bale, his Terminator co-star and The Dark Knight lead, whose profile was damaged after his infamous "me, me, me" meltdown on the Terminator set, which recently hit the internet.

Rumor: David Goyer and Jonathan Nolan Working on Third Batman Script?



You’re going to be seeing this one everywhere today, so let’s get it out of the way quick. In a report about David Goyer leaving FlashForward, Nikki Finke pegs script duties on the third Batman movie as one of the primary reasons he walked away. The direct quote from Goyer was pretty vague (”As my feature projects have started ramping up again, I felt I was being pulled in too many directions”) and Finke spins that directly into a statement about Goyer and Jonathan Nolan writing Batman 3. (”Goyer’s feature career is really heating up, since he co-wrote Batman Begins, and penned the story for The Dark Knight, and is now writing the third Batman installment with Chris Nolan’s brother Jonah.”)

Without any further confirmation, don’t get too excited about that yet. Goyer has a lot of feature projects in the fire, and while Finke has had a lot of good info lately, this one sounds like she’s spinning a broad statement into something too specific. There may be work of some sort going on, but read this one as unsubstantiated for now.