Is Robin coming to The Dark Knight Rises? I speculated upon that shit last week, when it was announced JGL is negotiating to be in the flick. Now the rumor mill has begun to churn, steam rising and gears crunching.

Slashfilm:

But a report from a Michigan NBC affiliate might now suggest otherwise. According to reports, location scouts for  The Dark Knight Rises were in Grand Ledge, MI recently and were looking at a water treatment plant to possibly be used as “a hideout for Batman’s sidekick Robin.” Are the location scouts being misquoted? Could this just be a red herring? Or are they possibly referring to another Robin? Read all the possibilities and quotes after the jump.

I don’t blame anyone who initially balks at the concept. In fact, both Nolan and Bale have publicly stated in the past they didn’t think it was the best idea.

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For a good amount of time last year, it was speculated that Joseph Gordon-Levitt was going to be in the next Batman flick. I was stoked. There were senseless rumors being thrown around, that he’d be the Riddler and such. These rumors were seemingly quashed last year when it was announced that Inception co-star Thomas Hardy was going to be in The Dark Knight Rises. While I love the dude, I was bummed. Lucky for me, hope springs fucking eternal.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt is officially in talks to join Batman 3 / The Dark Knight Rises / Get Me A fucking Bat-Burger, Alfred.

This evening, Slashfilm reported the following:

Deadline has confirmed something that has been suspected for some time — Joseph Gordon-Levitt is in talks to reunite with his Inception director Christopher Nolan in The Dark Knight Rises. No one knows what role he will play, but rumor sites have been suspecting that Hugo Strange is part of the threequel story.

Where there’s fire, there’s apparently smoke! Sexy, JGL smoke. Joey as Hugo Strange? Sign me up. But I’m calling it now, JGL as fucking Robin.

These are the casting confirmations that you’re looking for. Warner Bros. has confirmed that Tom Hardy will be playing Bane in The Dark Knight Rises, will Anne Hathaway will be playing Catwoman. No Dr. Hugo Strange, and I’m still holding out hope for Talia al Ghul.

Hit the jump for the official press release.

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I’m goddamn tired of all the Batman 3/The Dark Knight Rises/Bruce Wayne Runs Like Hell rumors. Can we get some concrete fucking casting news? No? We have to rummage through rumors like pigs through shit? Okay, okay. Better than nothing.

Importantly, tonight we may have confirmation of the character of my wet dreams, Talia Al Ghul. Raise the roof!

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While everyone is busy sweating Batman rumors, I’ll watch Baby Inception on repeat. You can’t script the amazing pay-off at the end.

Well, we saw this shit coming, didn’t we? I always imagined that Nolan would only be up for three Batman flicks. He’d complete the storyline he wanted to tell, throw the deuces up to everyone, and ride off into the sunset.   This idea of mine was only strengthened by a recent report that Nolan told Bale he’d be like totally done playing Bruce Wayne after the next flick. And then, news came out today where Nolan up and confirmed it.

EW via Slashfilm:

I feel very glad that I’m doing another Batman film. I think it would have been daunting to sit down and write an original script after Inception. I love working within the realm and rules of our Batman world. It’s kind of nice to have someplace to go that I’m super-excited about.

I must say that I’m glad – I’m very, very glad – to be embarking on the last chapter of our Batman saga without any sense of obligation or duty to the studio. They did very well with Inception. So I’m able to go into finishing our story in a very enthusiastic way.

I’m happy as hell with this news. It gives Nolan and the cast to go out in a blaze of glory in their final installment. Wrap everything up, leave their stamp on the universe, and then laugh as they watch other people try and top them. Sure, the franchise ain’t going to die. Way too much money. And maybe Nolan would even have made a better fourth movie than whoever comes next. But as Rendarbones Frankenpepsi says, perhaps there’s something to going out on top. Riding off into the sunset.

Thoughts? Impressions? Hit the comments box.

I’ve tried not to think about it, since it milked tears from my fanboy eyes. But since we’re all dragging it out into the open, I’ve long held that Christopher Nolan and Christian Bale were probably going to throw up peace signs and exit stage left after the third Batman movie. Not only did I think it probable, but a good portion of me wants them to. Tell their tale, and then go on their way. Why not leave the game on top, having capped off their arch? Sometimes it’s cool to go out on top, as opposed to dwindling into oblivion.

Well, Christian Bale has got these ruminations rumbling while doing press for his upcoming flick The Fighter. Slashfilm broke down the conversation, which is circuitous, and really may be nothing more than Bale being coy.

Slashfilm:

I believe, unless Chris [Nolan] says different, this will be the last time I’m playing Batman.

So, the obvious follow up would be, do you think Nolan might say differently? Here’s what Bale responded with.

Until Chris tells me, I don’t believe it, It’s gotta be from his mouth, or else I don’t really know.

So, was there a time when Nolan told him that he was only doing three movies? Or is he just playing coy? He’s placing the entire onus in Nolan’s hands, which is a neat way of avoiding saying you’re ready to give up the role that made you a gazillionaire, right?

Rumors regarding the next Batman movie make my fucking world go round. Keeps me spinning, baby! Or, at least, they pass the time. A few moments of diversion. The latest rumor to vomit out from underneath some rock? Tom Hardy, who has already been cast in the movie, will be playing Batman villain Dr. Hugo Strange.

Forgive me, fellow geeks, I had no idea who the fuck that was. Thankfully, Slashfilm did me a solid.

Slashfilm:

The latest rumor is that Tom Hardy, who we know has been cast in the film, will be playing Dr. Hugo Strange, a possibility that has been discussed in the comments of almost every single one of our Batman posts. In the comics, Strange is a genius, mad scientist who becomes obsessed with Batman, learns his secret identity and ends up dressing up like him.

Well then. It would work for me. They’ve already undertaken the idea of exploring a Batman impostor, or the concept that his identity could be co-opted by someone else. And for what it’s worth, take a look at Tom Hardy from Bronson. Despite giving me a boner from his sheer sexiness in Inception, the dude can play creep well.

Very well.

I like this rumor   a lot.

Apparently, there’s two major female roles that Christopher Nolan is currently casting for the next Batman flick, The Dark Knight Rises. One of them is going to be a love interest, and the other is going to be a fucking villain! Good Jesus Christ, could Talia al Ghul really be entering Nolan’s Batverse? Pepsibones and I are silently splooging at the possibility.

Anyways!, want the short list of actors Nolan’s allegedly looking at? That’s why you’re fucking here!

io9:

Rachel Weisz
Naomi Watts
Blake Lively
Natalie Portman
Anne Hathaway
Keira Knightley

Thoughts? Reactions on the list? I’d be like a fucking pig in shit if they could pull Portman or Weisz into the goddamn Batman’s next flick. Anne Hathaway? Eh. Blake Lively? Meh. Keira Knightley? Fuck now. Hit the comments box with your own feelings. Get inside yourself, and fondle around for a reaction.

Oh shit! Fresh off of Catwoman speculation comes a significant reveal. In an interview published minutes ago, Nolan dropped the title of the third Batman flick: The Dark Knight Rises. Not only that, but dudebro shoots down the potential for the Riddler, writing him off as appearing.

Slashfilm:

The news comes from Geoff Boucher over at Hero Complex, who was able to score a coveted interview with the secretive director. “It won’t be the Riddler,” Nolan said of the third film’s villain, squashing earlier rumors and speculation to the contrary. He also noted, “We’ll use many of the same characters as we have all along, and we’ll be introducing some new ones,” a fairly self-evident   yet cryptic statement.

Evidently, Boucher and Nolan also chatted about convincing Warner Brothers to go with IMAX instead of 3D for the film, which I find incredibly encouraging. Boucher says that information will be made available later today. We’ll update you guys when we hear about it.

Thoughts? Hit the comments box with your take on it. Me? I dig it. Simple enough, penciling out the (obvious) arc that has Wayne finally rising above the turmoil of the second flick. They call that a well-traced trajectory in a trilogy. I mean, if you weren’t expecting him to triumph in the final installment of a three-part saga, you probably haven’t been paying attention to narrative in the last three-zillion years.