Batman 'Rises' to the occasion for third film

Posted Wednesday, October 27, 2010 at 3:40 PM Central
Last updated Monday, November 1, 2010 at 2:44 PM Central

by John Couture

The Los Angeles Times (via their Hero Complex blog just scored a major exclusive from filmmaker Christopher Nolan regarding his upcoming third Batman movie. The formerly untitled installment will be called The Dark Knight Rises.

Personally, I was hoping for something more akin to "The Caped Crusader Rises" so that each of Nolan's movies in the trilogy would bare a different epithet for the comic book hero. To be honest, at first blush, I'm not a big fan of the title, but who am I to argue with a genius? Although, if I hear that Viagra has signed on as a sponsor, I'm done!

Among the other nuggets of information in the interview was the confirmation that The Dark Knight Rises will NOT be released in 3D and The Riddler will not be in the movie. You might recall my piece back in June about Nolan not being a big fan of the technology and his determination to not let the studio force it upon him.

It seems that releasing one of the year's biggest movies in Inception gives Nolan some leverage and, thankfully, he won out in the end regarding 3D.

As for the main villain (or any of Batman's foils in The Dark Knight Rises), I'm at a loss given that pretty much all I know about the Batman world is what I've seen in the movies and the old TV series. As a comics "lay person," I would've guessed that The Ridder would have been the next logical villain given Nolan's gritty, realistic style.

For some reason, I just don't see The Penguin or Mr. Freeze (also confirmed not to be in The Dark Knight Rises) fitting into the current story arc. As for other candidates, I'm open to suggestions.

The Dark Knight Rises will hit theaters on July 20, 2012.