*************major spoilers, inside info**********
everyone must remember two things first off when david nolan made the dark knight he knew he was making a sequal also chris nolan always likes to stay ahead of the audience also this is chris nolan’s batman world and not the comic world he is directing so there are some major differences,but because of heath ledgers death some tweaks were made. I received so much good info from my source i don’t know where to start but here we go.

the movie starts about a year after the dark knight, batman is now a wanted criminal because of this wayne has shut down batman temporarily and is working at wayne trying to do good with medical research and not military research.
during this time period gotham is again in chaos but a controlled chaos led by semi gangster oswald copplepot called the penguin (has not yet been casted) because of his stature. he is a arms dealer and controls all crime but is also very political and yes he will have a weaponized umbrella that we will see throughout the film but only used at the end. here’s where it gets interesting

the riddler is definitely in the film and has already been casted. this was the suprise news i received. chris nolan already snuck him in the last film. He was the man named coleman reese, in the dark knight he finds batmans identity. he was snuck in as a easter egg,get it coleman reese-Mr.Reese-Mysteries. in this film he will call himself the man of mysteries. they will show a backstory about his life being ruined and the loss of his family because of the joker threat.he ends up being a murderer highly sophisticated almost like from the movie saw. he is physically a nobody and will have no physical confrontation with batman in the entire film but he will kind of be batmans mental superior and tormenter since he also know batmans identity. at all his murder scenes he will leave behind riddles that appear to make no sense to the murder till the end. the riddles are not riddles to the murder but to batmans identity as bruce wayne. he signs his riddles with the term the man of mysteries, he gets the name riddler from the joker who he sends letters to at arkham. the joker in this movie receives the riddles signed ? before the murders happen.

the joker is in this film, originally he was to escape but because of heath’s death they found a new way to add him in the film which makes total sense. he will be a patient at arkham and in the “realistic” world that they are trying to create he will wear no makeup and will just have sever scars on his face from my source(paul bettany was offered the role ). once they realize that he is receiving the same riddles before the murders the city sends in Dr Harleen Quinn i hate to say this but my source says sarah michelle geller will take the part. Dr quinn and joker will have a hannibal lector-clarece type relationship at first until the joker pretty much drives her insane but unlike the comics she ends up killing him at the end and takes on his persona.

also mr freeze will be in the movie as dr.fries, he is being set up for a 4th batman movie along with harley quinnn. Dr fries works for wayne enterprises as a medical scientist but because of his dying wife begins doing cryogenic research on animals, near the end of the film he will end up perfecting it on animals and will end up experimenting on a human, Lucious Fox head of wayne enterpriese, yes unfortunately morgan freeman is killed in this film, dr fries ends up being caught and convicted for the criminally insane and is sent to arkham.

batman will end up coming out of retirement in the first half of the movie, throughout the beginning he will be bashed by the papers and the news while penguin will kinda be looked upon as a savior who got rid of the freaks. Bruce Wayne understands what he’s done from the last 2 movies and will now turn a blind eye to criminals like the penguin since gangsters will just replace gangsters. but when the man of mysteries aka the riddler is committing murders he decides he will try to stop the freaks, also after a couple riddles he learns that they lead to his identity being released. the main plot between him and the riddler is when he starts trying to beat the cops to the riddles and him and the riddler get into a mental cat and mouse game. the mayor of gotham will end up asking the penguin to hunt down the batman, he will offer him immunity for past crimes and also legitimize the penguins business interests.

the movie will end with batman at arkham trying to get to the joker so he can figure out the riddler, harley quinn will kill the joker before this. the penguins goons find out he is at arkham and try to use excessive force in getting to him but end up damaging arkham to the point everyone is freed from his cell. the mayor of gotham will eventually quarantine the entire island and cut it off, so the fourth film will have batman with mr freeze,harley quinn and all the crazies on the island while the riddler and penguin will be in gotham. the fourth film from what i hear will definitely be the last.

don’t worry robin is not in the movie, bruce wayne will go to a circus show and just mention that little dick grayson glides like a “robin” and also barbara gordon will oversee and here her father and batman speaking to each other and will bring up a curiosity but definitely no batgirl. it seems though there is a chance we may see a batgirl in the fourth film.

Johnny Depp as The Riddler

If they cast Joseph Gordon Levitt as the new Joker, it'd be great. He's a good actor and looks like Heath. However, I don't think he could ever be as good as Heath Ledger was in the role. If they insert The Joker in the same way they did the Scarecrow in TDK, that'd be best.
I don't really like the whole concept of adding Harley Quinn, though.
What I want for the sequel is really a new villain for the third film. I thought Black Mask or Hush would be cool. They would need expert writing, understand the themes of their characters so that they wouldn't be dull villains. Maybe, they could introduce a completely new villain.
Finally, I'm wondering if Christopher Nolan is considering shooting in 65mm or IMAX for the whole film like he said he was. Wally Pfister is a great cinematographer and it'd be great to see more IMAX footage shot by him. since, Nolan doesn't believe in using digital cameras to shoot, he probably would be against 3D, but I bet Nolan and Pfister could come up with some awesome ideas for the format. What I hope doesn't happen is WB trying to upscale to 3D, they need to listen to Nolan and do exactly what he wants.

I don't have any problem with JGL but it would look like a kid running around in Joker garb...I was a mark for him when the idea was originally proposed but I came to my senses. The problem with 80% of Batman fans is that they don't think logically or realistically...Yeah lets get Talia al Ghul in there, no one cares about that character. I wouldn't preorder my ticket to see Talia al Ghul battle it out with Batman sorry. I'd love to see the Riddler but in a minimal role. The Joker is the end all be all and everyone knows it and they are afraid of the change in actor that is the only reason why there is hesitation. If Ledger were alive we would get a massive Joker filled film. Why rob us of that because of his personal problems. I'm not going to speculate who should play the Joker but I know Nolan will make the best decision.

I'm down to play the Joker in Batman 3. Holla!

Oh really?

I think they should use JGL in a "cameo" role, as tribute to the joker character, so that the story arc can be completed. mentioned in arkham, essentially. guy pearce should play the riddler, as a secondary 'sub-plot' villan that has discovered batman's identity early on and works behind the scenes to manipulate the major characters. They would have to move the riddler away from his similarities to the joker.

And my vote is for "the dark knight returns".

Thanks for clarifying /film. Us fanboys are a bit too excited!

I hope Nolan does the ballsy thing and make Millers' the Dark Knight Returns

That would be awesome.

i hate people saying Batman 3 or giving them a number at all.

giving Batman a number would eventually start to feel like Rocky. "Batman 5? uugh.. :rolleyes:"

just say "the next Batman film"

Batman should be treated like an American James Bond.. just keep it going.

He guys in all seriousness, I really do love Joseph Gordon-Levitt. No seriously, I love him. He is to handsome for words, I bet his bum hole smells like ice cream. Who wants to join me in a lick.

^ You wish yOu were me...

I hope the joker returns...if some guy on youtube can imitate Ledger's Joker, I'm sure a professional actor can.

Ron Burgundy, did you seriously just say that Batman might not have a cape in Batman 3?

...

He had a retractable cape in TDK...I would think they would advance that technology a bit in the 3rd film...it looked better

the idea of nolan needing goyer to plot a story for him just blows my mind.

Why? Goyer & Nolan both contributed to BB & TDK

Ugh, the awful Animated Series fanboys are invading. Harley Quinn would be a horrible addition to Nolan's films. And keep Hammill where he belongs, away from the camera.

I never watched the animated series, but I did play Arkham Asylum. Those characters and actors are fantastic.

yeah and Levitt would be the first actor to have to put on weight to play the Joker...I don't want to crush anyone's fantasies but I doubt we will see a full fledged Harley in Nolan's Batman. I just can't see him seeing that character as plausible in her normal incarnation. My guess is that if there is a character by that name in Nolan's Batman she will be in a tattered nurse outfit with smeared makeup and the Joker will kill her and who knows, she maybe happy with that. People have suggested The Dark Knight Returns before but Nolan can't use that unless he uses elements from those books, which work with his series but I don't see him going into the future. The Return of the Dark Knight doesn't step on any toes..TRDK sounds good enough to involve a great viral with it...

How about "Joseph Gordon-Levitt & Batman." That's a title that will make some peOple on here happy.

probably make you happy ya fag...hahhahhaaaaaaaaa ha.

i would prefer (500) days of batman myself. whats your problem with JGL? i dont think nolan is coming back for batman 3, as he has enough clout to get his own ideas created into films. but if he did, i doubt he would use the joker that much. if anything, i would like to see this coming full circle, having the main villain(s) be scarecrow working with al ghul's daughter talia. now that rachel is dead, its a big sausage fest of a film.

agreed! i really don't understand why everyone is so against the catwoman prospect. i believe if done right should could be a welcome addition to the nolanverse

I have been waiting for news/rumour of a third installment for a while now. My guess is that even though Harvey dent had a funeral, he's still out there as two face. The joker may be in this but possibly from an arkham asylum view, nice and dark in there ya see! So Gordon levitt can wail from the shadows.

The batman is gonna be on the hate list but everyone isn't gonna feel that way entirely. Batman will feel deflated and will go into hiding, possibly drinking alot. Once everyone finds out that two face is alive and it's their beloved district attorney batman will be redeemed and subsequently asked to help capture the escaped joker/possible copycat (undecided), and bring him to justice.

Therefore the film will be called one of two options.

1. Batman redemption
2. The dark knight returns.

My favourite is the latter as it is the same as the wonderful frank miller graphic novel.

My how I love a good rumour!!

it will be called the caped crusader

The Dark Knight Returns would be cool, but there has already been rumors of Zack Snyder possibly directing Millers book adaptation sometime down the road. Even if it is not Snyder I don't see Nolan or Warner Bros. wasting the title unless it is the adaptation of the book.

Good point, I heard about that to. I prefer my first choice now!

Joseph Gordon-Levitt will be the new Joker, he looks like Heath Ledger, and he's a great actor. Nolan casted him in Inception to test the waters for the third installment of Batman.

wow...there will be NO other hero's in Nolan's last Batman film...there will no Johnny Depp in the film...this series isn't turning into a Ledger tribute...I loved the man as much as the rest of the fans and it was a truly inspired performance but we waited too long for a new version of the Joker just to have it ripped away bc of one man's drug addiction...the Joker is the way to go for the 3rd film...he poses the most dangerous threat to Gotham and Gotham is all Batman cares about at this point...Are we seriously meant to believe that a man with a penchant for riddles is going to stump Nolan's Batman, or a arms dealer (if the Penguin is a arms dealer I'm assuming he has access to machine guns and one clip of a automatic would take care of the Batman problem), or a woman that prances about stealing dressed as a cat will distract Batman from saving his city from armageddon, or a very muscular luchadore beating people up?...

There are a ton of villains they can go with but none can close out Christopher Nolan's brilliant take on Batman like the Joker can. He is the end all be all threat to Gotham and Batman's existence. Let Nolan find a unknown or someone who can have a good take on Ledger's interpetation of the character. The Scarecrow has been floating out there as a minor threat and there is no doubt he will be involved in some capacity for Batman 3. Since Two Face is dead and I believe Nolan will follow his script that leaves a plot line for a new villain. The Black Mask poses a personal threat and a threat to Batman protecting Gotham so he is the most logical choice as the emotional or Mob style arc of the film. I'm sure the Joker won't have as big a role in the film but he definitely should be the one Batman is after to save his city.

Lastly the name of this film is not going to be The Caped Crusader, he might not even have a cape in #3. No to Gotham City, No to whatever corny titled that has been passed around the forums. The most logical name for the finale without stepping on any toes should be THE RETURN OF THE DARK KNIGHT.

Twoface is not dead. Harvey Dent is dead.

im going to make you join him if you dont SHUT UP!...jk...I want to believe that as well but who fucking knows at this point..

The Dark Knight Returns. I like it. Its not as if they'll actually make a screen version of The dark Knight Returns for years to come anyway. It's going to take quite some time for the studios to agree to just doing awesome stories that arn't as continuity-based.

Yes, the Joker is going to have to return in some respect. To have him only mentioned in the 3rd movie would be insane and a big let-down. Joseph Gordon Levitt? He does have the range.

A man with a panchant for riddles would prove to be a decent obstacle at least. The Joker was smart but insanely so. The Riddler is very sane and ruthlessly clever. I'm going to agree with a lot of the internet here and say that David Tennant would be perfect in this role.

I said THE RETURN OF THE DARK KNIGHT....with the Riddler we've seen his story already...if you go through any Dark Knight forum and read anything on the sequel there have been so many fan fics and guess on the Riddler story. We pushed that character out of the lime lite of B3 and into a side role in my opinion. The Joker is unpredictable, I can see the Riddler story in my head but the Joker store for B3 draws a blank bc its up to the writer. We had no idea what he would be doing until like a month before the movie...

This is just my opinion, but I think they set up a great story in the "Fake Batmans" scene. Have Batman inspire OTHER crime fighters to appear (and there are a lot of power-less heroes in DC, Green Arrow, Huntress, Question, etc.), and have him deal with that. When a man becomes a symbol, others will surely follow, and that is something Nolan's Batman did not seem to account for.
That's what I'd like to see, anyway. I know it will never happen, but it would still be an interesting direction for the series to go.

i'm not getting the giant outpouring of "lets keep in the joker!" i mean, there are sooooo many other villans in the batman universe, and to re-use one (albeit the best one), even though the actor who portrayed it so amazingly well is dead seems contrived. personally, i think that johnny depp as the riddler (working for the police like in the newer books i think) and phillip seymour hoffman as the penguin would kick ass in terms of batman having to like redeem himself. and they should call the movie "the caped crusader"

I'm sure Nikki knows far more about this than you!

I think they just have to go for it and continue the Joker story...they originally had the Joker going to trial and Dent getting scarred there but they obviously condensed their part 2&3 into TDK...I think they will put the big focus on Batman for sure this time but everyone knows when it comes to Batman its about the villains and no villain would sell better than the Joker. Heath is gone and everyone saw what he did ect ect...Place the film a few years down the line and get a great actor to fill the shoes and make the trilogy the way they had planned. No one is a bigger threat than the Joker and having some villain not put to screen as the only major threat in Batman 3 would be a disappointing end to what can be the best superhero trilogy ever. My picks would be another master plan by the Joker, the Black Mask filling the shoes of the Harvey Dent type villain arc, and a bigger role for the scarecrow. Keep it simple. Everyone would love to see Two Face again but if you do Black Mask justice as the new character and have the Joker create unparalleled chaos and possibly team up with the Scarecrow to manufacture some Joker Gas or whatever you call it...This is the film I prefer but I have a feeling were going to have to deal with Catwoman, the Riddler and Bane...

i like your name, Burgandy.

scotch.....I.love.scotch.

I would agree that the re-cast is probably the right way to go. Though it depends on what they can come up with.

i believe there is a way to have the joker in the movie...

a) without ever really seeing him, have him operate from arkham, have minions due his bidding...basically just have his "presence" in the movie, he'd be a puppet master of chaos if you will...

b) make him intentionally not the same joker (not what i would prefer but i feel it's a comprimise that could fufill the audience demand for the joker and also ease their worry about a re-cast)

c) or just go through the dreaded recast...i was against it initially but to have the trilogy be the best it can be i believe we need the joker...that being said i have faith in whatever the nolans come up with

I'm totally down for Joseph Gordon-Levitt to pick up the baton. That, or just feed Mark Hamill some speed and let him loose.

@The Joker

More like on my ceiling!

I have to agree with Joker. How is Leavitt at all a fit for this role? And don't throw me the whole Heath Ledger?

Yessss, I do love myself. But I have a poster of Bruce on my wall. I throw darts at it.

Auf Wiedersehen.

@thejoker what strange sense of humor you have. Is that supposed to offend me? That I dig JGL a lot? And actually, I was thinking of getting a Brick poser, Yes. Anyway, you're very funny. Nice username, by the way. Do you Looooooove the joker?

I knew a request for Joseph Gordon-Levitt was coming. Do yOu have a poster of him on your bedroom wall?

David Goyer and Christopher Nolan had sketched out a trilogy from the get-go; unfortunately the Joker character was supposed to continue onto the third installment and it's unlikely that the role will be recast.
But the question is: How can Batman maintain his objective (save Gotham from crime) when he's now public enemy #1?