Latest Rumours About Batman 3 Out of Control
UK Tabloid Prints Unfounded Story on Dark Knight Follow-Up Film
Dec 20, 2008
The rumour mill about a third film in Nolan's franchise-reviving Batman series has become a sort of he said-she said affair. In July, as The Dark Knight was capturing the attention of moviegoers worldwide and setting box office records, the mill churned out a rumour that included Johnny Depp in the role of the Riddler and Philip Seymour Hoffman playing the Penguin in the third film. The news of two acting powerhouses like Depp and Seymour Hoffman potentially lending their talents to the franchise compelled Batman fans everywhere. But none of these rumours would be confirmed by either Warner Brothers - the studio behind the Batman films - or Nolan. Nolan has actually publicly stated that he will not include any characters he considers far-fetched and unrealistic, therefore eliminating the Penguin from any script.
No Definite Plans for "Batman 3"
No one but Nolan truly knows what the future holds for the franchise. Christian Bale (Batman/Bruce Wayne) has stated that he would certainly don the cape and cowl again if Nolan was directing, so it appears that the ball is in Nolan's court. According to an article on Variety.com, Warner Brothers wants to do a third film and has put an offer on the table for Nolan. Nolan has recently mentioned that he has worked with some rough outlines for a follow-up but has yet to conceive anything that he feels compelled to dedicate himself to filming. He's being very cautious, as any director who is less than a year removed from directing the most successful Batman movie would and should be. "The worst thing you could do now that you've gotten the plane back in the air is mess up the landing," Nolan told USA today.
What's the Latest?
Earlier this week, the UK Sun broke news that the cast of the follow-up to The Dark Knight had been revealed. Citing unverifiable sources, The Sun reported that Eddie Murphy would be cast as the Riddler, Shia LaBeouf would act as Batman's sidekick Robin, and Rachel Weisz would succeed Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman, a role that was said during the summer to be going to Cher. The much-maligned tabloid also said that the film, tentatively titled Gotham, would be released in 2010. The news spread like wildfire and had Batman fans up in arms as they envisioned a liekly return to the campy Joel Schumacher Batman & Robin flick that almost destroyed the franchise before Nolan rescued it in 2005. It can be safely assumed that this news is likely false as Nolan would not impose such a sure setback on his Batman films. He has his finger on the pulse of what Batman fans are looking for. After all, isn't Robin the same character that comic book fans voted to kill off in the late 1980s?
