I feel like we need to really figure out the naming convention for the next Batman film until the official title is revealed. Is it Batman 3? That would indicate there were not four previous Batman movies; it isn’t like the James Bond films started over from #1. I like calling it The Dark Knight 2 (or TDK2, since the kids just love acronyms these days), but that’s mostly because I feel like Nolan finally figured out how to make a Batman film with TDK. Batman Begins is such a dry run.
Anyway, whatever you want to call it, there’s no news about it. And that’s possibly news, according to Batman on Film. The site reports that Warner Bros and Christopher Nolan should know what’s what with Batman 3 – ie, is Nolan coming back – by January 2010. BoF’s source says the longer we don’t hear about it, the more likely it is that Nolan is done. BoF has different opinions, saying that Nolan is signed.
Which may be the case! But it doesn’t matter. If Nolan wants out of Batman 3/TDK2, Warner Bros is going to let him go. They’re not going to force the dude to make the movie. That way lies a terrible film. And even if Nolan didn’t want to direct the next movie, he’d definitely be producing it. So even in a situation where Nolan realizes he might have a very hard time following up the second biggest earning movie (unadjusted!) in history, Warner Bros would get to put his name on the TV commercials for the next film.
My guess: Nolan will not direct the next film. He’ll be a strong producer but he’ll turn over the reins to someone talented but hungry – a name that will make us nerds happy but won’t eclipse him. If that’s the case, who could it be? Weigh in on our message board.