Christian Bale: The next Batman (huh?)

You look familiar. Have we met before?

Now that Christian Bale has hung up his cape and cowl, let's address rumors about who will next play Batman on the big screen.

The latest actor attached to the role? Christian Bale.

Confused?

According to a report from Latino Review, Bale is in discussions to don the Bat-tights for a Justice League movie in 2015. That makes sense when you consider that the site also is reporting that Bat-director Christopher Nolan will oversee the project.

Oh, and prepare for a geek overload.

"Man of Steel" director Zack Snyder is mentioned as a Justice League producer and potential director. That raises the possibility of Henry Cavill wearing the Super-cape in the same movie.

Top that, Marvel.

Batman - The Dark Knight Rises Review (Holy Bat Spoilers Batman)

“Not Everything. Not yet.”

Here it is the third and final installment in Christopher Nolan’s epic Batman.  The highly anticipated Batman: The Dark Knight Rises is finally here and we all have to wonder is it worth the hype.  Well that’s what I was hoping for when I went to the first showing this morning.  With my son next to me we waited with baited breath for the movie to start and to see our hero on the screen.  Would we like it?  Would it be up to par with Batman Begins and The Dark Knight? Well we had our answer after 2 hours and 44 minutes of movie viewing.

R.I.P., Bruce Wayne? Long Live The Batman

Have we seen the last of The Batman?

We already know that "The Dark Knight Rises" is the final picture in the trilogy of Christopher Nolan/Christian Bale movies about Batman.

But is it also the end for Batman?

Or at least Bruce Wayne?

Holy Conspiracy Theory!

Director Christopher Nolan discusses the finale in his Batman trilogy

Third time's the harm?

Christopher Nolan opening up about "Batman: The Dark Knight Rises"?

Hard to believe, isn't it? And while the secretive director is not giving away too many details, he is finally talking about his much-anticipated third - and final - installment in the series. As he told Empire Magazine:

"It's really all about finishing Batman and Bruce Wayne's story. We left him in a very precarious place. Perhaps surprisingly for some people, our story picks up quite a bit later, eight years after The Dark Knight. So he's an older Bruce Wayne; he's not in a great state.

"With Bane, we're looking to give Batman a challenge he hasn't had before. With our choice of villain and with our choice of story we're testing Batman both physically as well as mentally."

Batman, Bane occupy Wall Street

Bane and Batman.

Yes, we're being treated to even more photographs and video from the set of "The Dark Knight Rises." What makes the photos exceptional is that they are close-up shots from fight scenes filmed on Wall Street in New York City involving Bane (Tom Hardy) and Batman (Christian Bale). You can see more pictures and video by clicking here.

What makes the video fun to watch is the fake fighting. Literally, some of the punches don't come within three feet of their target.



For the real thing, we have to wait until June 12, 2012.

The 'official' synopsis for 'The Dark Knight Rises'

Christian Bale and his cowled alter ego return in 2012.

Cosmic Book News is reporting that it has a copy of the official plot synopsis for "The Dark Knight Rises." Maybe it is legitimate. Maybe not. But there is no doubt that it fits in with everything else we've head.

So here goes (minor spoilers, if you haven't been paying attention to the kazillion other spoiler posts on the movie)

"Every hero has a journey. Every journey has an end. Christopher Nolan returns to complete the epic Gotham trilogy that launched with Batman Begins and reached the stratosphere with the billion-dollar blockbuster The Dark Knight.

More Clues to 'The Dark Knight Rises' Plot (Hint: Think 'Knightfall'

If you've been paying any attention at all to the little bat-bits of news coming from the secretive sets of Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight Rises," you probably already know too much about the film and its possible plot.

Why?

Bane.

The criminal mastermind, portrayed by Tom Hardy, is billed as the top villain in the movie. That immediately reminds comic book fans of the "Knightfall" storyline from 1993. We'll let the fine folks at Screen Rant provide the synopsis.

But first, a warning: If you only know Bane from his lame appearance in Joel Schumacher's even lamer "Batman and Robin," this likely contains MAJOR SPOILERS:

Footage of Batman fighting Bane ... after they just stand around for a while

Lights ... cameras ... action!

It takes a few seconds for the scene to get rolling, but you can watch Christian Bale's Batman and Tom Hardy's Bane mix it up in this video from the streets of Pittsburgh, er, Gotham City.

"Batman: The Dark Knight Rises" will be coming to a theater near you next summer.