Christopher Nolan news: Batman 3, Inception

Image from Christopher Nolan's IMDb page

Batman 3 is one of the most talked about sequels right now while nothing official has been announced for it. The biggest question is, of course, if Christopher Nolan will return to the franchise to complete the Batman trilogy. The Dark Knight was the first sequel Nolan was ever a part of and co-writers Jonathan Nolan and David S. Goyer would have to do a lot of convincing (again) to get him to come back for another sequel.

Heath Ledger's untimely passing is probably the biggest issue concerning the next Batman sequel. Batman-on-Film has an article discussing Nolan and whether he'll return for the third film. In it, it mentions Ledger's passing "rocked Mr. Nolan so hard." "TDK was going to be it for him and Batman on film," the article also mentioned. "The Joker was going to return in Batman 3," and Ledger's death puts everything concerning the sequel, "back to square one." Story ideas are still being developed with Christopher Nolan and the BoF article mentions that it won't be, "until AT LEAST 2012 before we see The Caped Crusader [back in theaters]."

Nolan brought us Batman Begins in 2005 and then The Dark Knight in 2008 with The Prestige in the middle of the two films as it came out in 2006. With Nolan in the middle of his sci-fi film, Inception (which is set to come out in 2010), it'll be interesting to see what his plans are for his next film after that wraps shooting and post-production work is finished. The Dark Knight took about two years total to get from the planning stages to the screen. Warner Bros. has to be hoping for a similar performance from the next Batman sequel since The Dark Knight became the highest grossing film of the superhero genre. So as much as they want to get a new Batman film in theaters as soon as possible, it would be in their best interest to at least wait to see if Nolan is willing to be a part of the next film before they decide to replace him or not.

If anyone can top The Dark Knight, it's Christopher Nolan. It's hard to imagine anyone else developing a Batman film after Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. The time between sequels can only be seen as a good thing. As long as Nolan and his team can develop a worthy sequel with a good story and strong characters, then it's safe to say that the film will be a success. If WB replaces Nolan, then we'll probably wind up with another Batman & Robin type of film and that would be a major downgrade.

News on the third Batman film was rather slim until the San Diego Comic-Con came and went. It was there that Gary Oldman told audiences that Batman 3 would begin shooting next year. He then told Ain't It Cool News, "Well, I'm sure they want to do another one...it might [be] 2 or 3 years..." The comment didn't make much sense as Nolan would have to be jumping onto developing Batman 3 as soon as Inception was hitting theaters next July. Nolan is the type of director that doesn't rush things and takes as much time as he needs to finish a film before adding something else to his plate. That's why his filmography only includes seven films, at the moment, and that's probably why his films are as good and successful as they are. David S. Goyer then told MTV: “Right now, Chris is involved in filming ‘Inception,’ and when he finishes that, he will turn his studious gaze back to the Bat universe and we’ll see.”

So it looks like Nolan has neither denied the possibility of being part of the next Batman film or confirmed it. As long as he at least considers it, puts some thought into it, and doesn't just downright turn down the idea of another film, then I think fans will understand if he decides to step away from the Batman franchise.

To further interest Nolan fans with Inception, a teaser trailer will be attached with some prints (not all) of Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds on August 21st. The only summary we have for the film thus far is that it will be, "a contemporary sci-fi thriller set within the architecture of the mind.” Inception's cast includes Leonardo DiCaprio, Michael Caine, Cillian Murphy, Marion Cotillard, Ellen Paige, Tom Hardy, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Ken Watanabe. It's set to hit theaters July 16th, 2010.