BATMAN - Nolan Talks 'Batman 3' and 'Superman'

I'm a pretty freakin' big Batman fan, and as such, I've decided I'm going to cover the development of the third Batman film as closely as I can on this blog (limitations of dial-up willing). The first bit of coverage the film is going to get here is pulled from a recent posting on Slashfilm, quoting from a article that ran by the LA Times.

In it, Christopher Nolan, director and co-writer of Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, reveals some tidbits about the third installment of the Batman franchise, and the going-ons concerning Superman's return to the big screen.

Nolan says:

"The key thing that makes the third film an great possibility for us is that we want to finish our story. And in viewing it as the finishing of a story rather than infinitely blowing up the balloon and expanding the story…I’m very excited about the end of the film, the conclusion, and what we’ve done with the characters. My brother has come up with some pretty exciting stuff. Unlike the comics, these thing don’t go on forever in film and viewing it as a story with an end is useful. Viewing it as an ending, that sets you very much on the right track about the appropriate conclusion and the essence of what tale we’re telling."

I half expected the Nolans to conclude their Batman tale with this third installment, but I was sorta hoping that wasn't the case. Nevertheless, I respect him for wanting to finish the films on top, and conclude with a story that he's pretty excited about. And the fact that he's excited makes me excited - this may just be as good as The Dark Knight. I know, I know - premature judgment. Suffice it to say, I'm very, very anxious to find out this brilliant story idea the Nolan clan have come up with...

In regards to the new Superman movie, which is officially not called The Man of Steel:

"It’s very exciting, we have a fantastic story. And we feel we can do it right. We know the milieu, if you will, we know the genre and how to get it done right…[it] is a way of approaching the story I’ve never seen before that makes it incredibly exciting."

Well, the guy has enthusiasm. As long as Nolan is able to make Superman actually, y'know, interesting, I'm game. [Sorry to offend any Superman fans; I just don't get the big love for the character, who is quite one-dimensional, even after nine seasons under its belt in TV land] And one final tidbit: it's not confirmed whether Nolan will direct either Batman 3 or Superman, and an announcement probably won't be forthcoming until post-Inception.

On the Inception front, in a recent interview, Leonardo DiCaprio, who plays Cobb (one of the main leads), revealed that the film will be "about two hours long, give or take." Another cool tidbit, straight out of the newest issue of Empire magazine, is that Nolan came up with the idea for the movie at age 16 (!). Inception comes out 16 July 2010.