One rumor’s source has been confirmed though, and that is that Johnny Depp and Phil Hoffman were in fact suggested to play their rumored parts. Stuff.co.nz has “confirmed” that both actors will appear in Batman 3, but the actual claim is just that they were wanted for the job.

Michael Caine, who plays Alfred in the Nolan-Batmen said to MTV: “I was with a Warner Bros executive and I said, ‘Are we going to make another one?’ They said, ‘Yeah’.

“I said, ‘How the hell are we going to top Heath Ledger as The Joker? And he says, ‘I’ll tell you how you top Heath – Johnny Depp as The Riddler and Philip Seymour Hoffman as The Penguin’.

“I said, ‘Shit, they’ve done it again’.”

“Shit they’ve done it again” sounds like an odd exclamation for Cain to utter, but ok.

Work is expected to begin on the next movie, starring Christian Bale as Batman, some time next year.

A downer for Nolan fans however, as he says he ain interested in making another Batman:

Ain’t It Cool News: Eckhart: I think Heath was the one that was going to come back. And since he can’t… (Pauses) You know, Chris hasn’t said that he’s going to make another one.

[Interviewer]: True. He’s been on vacation. I spoke to David Goyer at Comic Con, and he said there have been no discussions.

Eckhart: (Smiling) He never said he’s going to make another one. I’m sure they drove the Brinks truck up to his house and dumped money on his lawn. But I think Chris wants to go out and make other movies, too. And he should. He’s an independent filmmaker at heart. He’s got a lot of ideas.

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