The as-yet-untitled Batman 3 was included in the 20-film deal announced between Warner Bros. and IMAX last week, but no other information was given. Warner Bros. has now announced that they are releasing Batman 3 on July 20, 2012.

Director Christopher Nolan does not want to film in 3D, but sources believe that the movie will come out in both IMAX and conventional theaters. Nolan is working on the storyline for his next Batman installment, co-writing with David Goyer and brother Jonathan Nolan.

Christian Bale is set to return as the titular crime-fighter. Also rumored to return for Batman 3 are Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, and Gary Oldman.

Batman Begins earned $352 million worldwide, while The Dark Night topped out around $1 billion. As the movie is set to premiere in 2012, to keep on schedule they should go into production this fall, with filming into swing by winter.

Nolan is currently in post-production of his highly anticipated sci-fi thriller Inception, starring Leonardo Di Caprio. Inception will be released in theaters on July 16, 2010.

Okay, this is starting to get confusing. Reports began swirling about a month ago that Batman Begins an d The Dark Knight director Christopher Nolan was being brought in as a producer to oversee the next Superman film, and both movie and comic fans alike rejoiced. Shortly after, DC Entertainment president Diane Nelson outright rejected the rumors, leaving those fans feeling slightly cheated. It seemed like such a great idea that the man who wrangled the Batman franchise into one of the most lucrative and acclaimed series in history would step in to aid with the “Big Blue boyscout.”

Luckily, Nelson’s statements were apparently just meant as misdirection, as Nolan himself opened up to the LA Times about his involvement and the high hopes and plans he, his screenwriter brother Jonathan, and his producer wife Emma Thomas have for Superman.

“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. I wanted to get Emma and I involved in shepherding the project right away and getting it to the studio and getting it going in an exciting way. We’re approaching it in a not dissimilar way [to the Batman films] in terms of trying to find an incredible story in a way that audiences can engage with it the way they engage with contemporary action films.”

The best guess as far as who will helm the project seems to be that Begins writer and Dark Knight co-plotter David Goyer will handle the script, with his sights set on also directing. This will leave brothers Chris and Jonathan free to tackle the third Batman picture, on which Chris claims Jonah is now “doing the hand work.”

Christopher spoke a little about the approach they are taking for the next installment:

“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.”

So there you have it, straight from the horse’s mouth. Nolan will be overseeing Superman while working on Batman. Pretty exciting stuff for fans. So we want to hear your thoughts. How do you feel about Nolan taking the reins as DC’s golden boy?

It’s been four years since Superman last graced the big screen in Superman Returns, and it’s looking like the superhero might be taking to the skies once again.

Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures have just signed David Goyer to write the screenplay for Man of Steel (working title), the next Superman film. Goyer has worked with Warner Bros. before as a co-writer of Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, and is no stranger to the world of comic book hero-based films. In addition to the Batman films, Goyer served as writer and producer of the ‘Blade’ franchise, and executive producer of Ghost Rider.

Goyer joining up with the Superman project comes right as Warner Bros. is starting to hit crunch time in getting another Superman movie going. Once 2013 rolls around, the heirs of the creator and co-creator of Superman will take possession of the Superman copyright, which means that Warner Bros. will have to pay millions to the heirs in order to continue with any subsequent Superman movies.

With a writer now in place for the film, Warner Bros. is much more likely to be able to get the new movie rolling by 2011, meaning the film has a better chance of being finished and into theaters before the 2013 turnover.

So far, Goyer’s idea for the Man of Steel would give audiences a more action-based film, including battles between Superman and Lex Luthor, and between Superman and Brainiac.

Brandon Routh, who played Clark Kent/Superman in Superman Returns is not expected to return for Man of Steel; neither is Superman Returns writer/director/producer Bryan Singer.

Christopher Nolan is starting to look like some kind of superhero. Or at least the man the superheroes come to when they want their franchise rescued. After bringing Batman roaring back to life in 2005 and then lifting him to previously unheard heights of awesome with The Dark Knight, it looks like Nolan will be playing mentor to yet another famous DC hero.

Afterall, who has had a harder franchise time lately than Superman? Aside from WB’s Smallville, every iteration of the character since 1978′s Superman has been flawed or downright wrong-headed.

It makes sense then to pursue Nolan, who keeps churning out exciting and interesting films in between his comic adaptations. This summer will see the release of Nolan’s compelling Inception, a futuristic mystery thriller starring Leonardo DiCaprio. And he is also already at work with David Goyer and Jonathan Nolan on the plot particulars of the third entry in the Batman franchise. This is one busy guy.

Right now, the plan is that Nolan will only shepherd the creative team through development, but I suppose it’s possible that he could in fact step in if his schedule allowed. Nevertheless, having him on board sounds like a very good thing. Although, this won’t be a follow-up to Superman Returns, it hasn’t yet been announced that Singer or Routh are out of the next one. I imagine though, they will eventually disappear and pave the way for yet a full-blown reboot.

The best news to come out of this is that with Nolan heading up two franchises that have been linked for years in the comics, we might be one step closer to eventually seeing that fabled meeting The Dark Knight and the Man of Steel.  Now that would be a team-up worth getting in line for.

Columbia Pictures fills up its schedule, putting together a sequel for the Nicolas Cage 2007 film Ghost Rider. In talks to pen the script is scribe David Goyer who previously worked on The Dark Knight and The Unborn. Actor Nicolas Cage will be reprising his role as the motorcycle riding demon, no word at all if Eva Mendes will be adding onto the cast list. Through a spokesperson, Goyer said he hadn’t signed on yet. But plans are already under way to base the sequel on a “Ghost Rider” script written years ago by Goyer (Variety).

The sequel adds onto the never ending list of Marvel properties that continue to make their way onto the big screen. Currently several projects are in development which include Captain America, Ant-Man and The Avengers. Twentieth Century Fox at the moment is in the middle of rebooting their own Fantastic Four franchise while DC Comics revamps their lineup with the pre-production of The Green Lantern along with the possible revival of The Justice League movie. At the moment, Marvel’s latest property Iron Man 2 is in the middle of post-production with a May 7th release date.

David Goyer’s new movie, The Unborn has gotten its first trailer that you can check out below. In all due honesty, this looks like something I may skip. Not that it looks bad at all, its freaky as s%*t to be honest. This is the type of movie, at least for me, that would stick with me for way too long.
While this looks like a mashup of other various films we have seen in the last few years, I think this may strike a chord with a few folks. Looks well done and Gary Oldman is in it for pete’s sake!
Enjoy it!

What do you think? Am I over reacting or will you not sleep either if you see it? Keep up to date with the latest news by joining our newsletter.