Big news coming out of San Diego Comic-Con today … Gary Oldman, who plays James Gordan in Batman Begins, Batman: The Dark Knight and presumably in future Batman films in the franchise, spilled the juicy news that the next Batman film begins shooting in 2010. There has been much rumor and conjecture that work has quietly begun on the next Batman film but, as of yet, there has been no official confirmation of any Batman movie news. While Oldman’s comments cannot be taken as “official confirmation”, I’d say — considering the source — it’s pretty good info:

While speaking at the Comic-Con panel for his new movie, The Book of Eli, Gary Oldman told the crowd that the next Batman film will start shooting in 2010, scheduled for release in 2011. “You didn’t hear that from me,” he added. Oldman played Commissioner Gordon in Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. EW trying to confirm with Warner Bros.

Wow!! This is really big news. Again, while it’s not an official confirmation, now that the cat is out of the bag I’m guessing that Warner Bros. will have to go on the record about the next Batman film very soon. I’ll bet we’ll be hearing some official something from the studio this weekend … while Comic-Con is in session. There have been so many rumors about which villains might be featured in the next Batman installment (Catwoman, The Riddler) and which actors might play those characters (Angelina Jolie, Eddie Murphy) … none of which can be believed at all. But, now that we know that that the film will probably begin filming next year, we’re bound to learn more concrete news very, very soon. So … who’s excited?????

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Pink reader Neptune gave me the head’s up that a beloved character in pop culture lore has passed away this week. In a new comic book series titled Batman R.I.P. the famed caped crusader is shot and killed — bringing to an end the long life of billionaire playboy/superhero Bruce Wayne/Batman! I, for one, am not only shocked at this sad news but am also aghast that this is the way that my fave fictional hero of all time has, apparently, met his end:

Batman’s alter ego Bruce Wayne has apparently been killed off in the latest issue of the superhero comic. Scottish writer Grant Morrison revealed earlier this year that Wayne would either retire or be killed in a clash with crime syndicate Black Glove. The story – Batman RIP – sees Batman shot by villain Simon Hurt, who claims to be Wayne’s father Dr Thomas Wayne. Morrison told BBC News there would be “a lot more twists and turns to come” before the story was finally resolved. “It’s great that it stirs up such passion,” he said. “Nobody loves Bruce Wayne more than me, and I hope everybody understands that this is part of the great ongoing adventure of Batman.” The caped crusader first appeared in comics in 1939, and has spawned a 1960s TV series and a host of films. The “death” of Wayne’s father – shot alongside his mother by a robber when he was a boy – was the catalyst for the young industrialist to become the vigilante crime fighter Batman. In the final scene, Hurt tries to escape in a helicopter after shooting Batman. But the wounded superhero throws himself at the helicopter, causing it to crash. The comic story ends without a frame showing Wayne’s body, however. Morrison, from Glasgow, told BBC News on Friday that the next two issues of the Batman comic would see a “summing up” of the superhero’s career before “the absolute, final fate” of Bruce Wayne was revealed in a sister publication, Final Crisis, in January. “It’s the end of a story that goes back to 2005, a story to tell the definitive story of Batman,” he explained. “We wanted to see what would happen if the most evil, richest people in the world decided they didn’t like Batman, and decided to take him apart piece by piece and destroy him. “And then have Batman come back, and we could see why he’s so great,” added Morrison. The storyline included clues which dated back to Batman comics from 40 years ago, he added. Wayne may be dead, but publisher DC Comics shows no sign of bringing to an end the Batman franchise. Frontrunners to take over as Batman include Tim Drake, who has been Robin since 1991, and Dick Grayson – the original Boy Wonder – who now protects Gotham City as Nightwing.

Insane! I cannot believe that anyone would want to kill Bruce Wayne :( You may recall that in the late 80’s, Batman’s sidekick Robin — Jason Todd (who took over for Dick Grayson when he retired as Robin) — was killed in the comic book series, only to be replaced by Tim Drake (the current Robin). Back then I thought that was taking things too far. In the mid-90’s, right around the time that Superman was “killed” in the comic books (only to return to life, since Superman can’t really ever die), Batman was almost killed when he had his back broken by Bane (Batman was temporarily replaced by Azrael while he recuperated from his injuries). It seems that time has finally run out for Bruce Wayne this time, tho. Even tho Batman will live on (with the mantle falling to either Dick Grayson [the original Robin] or Tim Drake [the current Robin]) no one will ever be able to replace Bruce Wayne as the Batman. It’s a sad day in comic book lore, y’all … let’s pour one out for the dearly departed Bruce Wayne.

[Source, thanks Neptune]

Now, I’m suggesting you take the following information with a BIG GRAIN OF SALT … even tho the info comes directly from a possible reliable source. MTV is reporting that Michael Caine, who played Alfred Pennyworth in both Batman Begins and Batman: The Dark Knight, is claiming that Johnny Depp will be playing The Riddler and Phillip Seymour Hoffman will be playing The Penguin in the next Batman film to be made. While I would LOVE to believe this casting news outright, it just doesn’t feel right. Here is a portion of the MTV report:

It’s one of the biggest — and most hotly debated — questions in fandom…which actors (and characters) will director Christopher Nolan enlist as a villain for his third “Batman” film? Rumors have abounded since the release of “The Dark Knight,” and Nolan has remained fiercely tight-lipped. But now, has one of his main players revealed some of the biggest casting news of the decade? In an interview with MTV News conducted just hours ago at the Toronto Film Festival, Michael Caine — there to promote “Is There Anybody There?” — seemed to confirm rumors that the next installment of the “Batman” film franchise will feature two very well-known names playing the roles of The Riddler and the Bumbershoot Bandit, The Penguin. “They’ve already got them in mind,” said Caine, when asked who he’d like to see take up arms against the Caped Crusader. “It’s Johnny Depp as The Riddler. And The Penguin is Philip Seymour Hoffman. I read it in the paper.” So Caine is like the rest of us, reading gossip in the tabloids, right? Except for one thing…according to the actor, he confirmed the news through the studio itself. “When Christopher [Nolan] said we were going to do ‘The Dark Knight’ next, I didn’t what that meant in Batman terms,” related Caine, who plays Bruce Wayne’s loyal butler, Alfred Pennyworth. “I said, ‘What’s the story?’ and he said The Joker. I said, ‘Oh, s–t! How are you going to top Jack [Nicholson]?’ He said, ‘Well, I’ve cast Heath Ledger. And I went ‘Ha! I couldn’t top Jack, but if anyone could, maybe Heath could.’ And he did. “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? 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, ‘S–t, they’ve done it again!’” [Laughs]

Sounds legit, right? Well … notsofast … Phillip Seymour Hoffman himself has denied that anyone at all associated with any of the Batman films has approached him to play the part of The Penguin. Furthermore, he confesses that he is unsure he’d be able to do justice to the part:

Today at the Toronto Film Festival, we went right to the source and asked Hoffman directly if he indeed had been cast as The Penguin. “No one has talked to me about it ever — never,” replied Hoffman. “It happened, like, five years ago, too. It was a rumor back then and it’s still a rumor. [laughs] It’s just in the press. It’s funny.” To further cement this issue, Hoffman added that he’d never met Nolan (”Maybe I did or met him in passing?”), and that his interest in comic book movies is purely on a fan level, and he intended to keep it that way. “I’m such a fan of those movies,” related Hoffman. “Comic book movies in general I look forward to — I am a real cheerleader for them. I want them to do well because those are terrific stories. As a kid I was a big comic book collector. What [Nolan]’s doing is taking it in a whole other exciting great place. I’m more a fan, so the interest of being in it isn’t that great. It’s more the interest in wanting to see the next one. It’s probably better that way.” When further pressed for his level of interest in the role if Warner Bros. approached him about the role, Hoffman said, “I don’t know. I think I’m more interested in seeing someone else do it. I don’t know if I’d be a good Penguin to be quite honest. [laughs]”

HMMM … it sounds like Michael Caine might’ve been sippin’ on the bottle a bit much to really know what is really going on. As I said, as much as I’d love to believe that this casting news is actually true I just don’t think it is. What do y’all think? Is Caine right … or just totally wacked out?

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My French boys at Oh La La came across a new Batman movie poster that I’m fairly certain is a fake/fan made poster that was whipped up for the next movie in the franchise … which hasn’t even been written yet. Honestly, the poster is pretty damn good, I think, so I figured it’d be worth sharing:

There are a lot of rumors going around that The Riddler (Johnny Depp’s name has been thrown around to play him) will be the villain in the next Batman movie, some say it’ll be Catwoman (I would deffo be on board if they got Angelina Jolie to squeeze into the Catsuit) … still others think it may be The Penguin (Philip Seymour Hoffman anyone?). At this point, it’s impossible to know because, hello, The Dark Knight is still in theaters. But, if they were going to go The Riddler route, I think this kind of poster would be awesome. I’d bet money that they would never name the next film The Dark Knight Returns … but still, it’s a pretty cool poster don’tcha think?

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Christian Bale and Heath Ledger, in their roles as Batman and The Joker, are featured on the cover and in the pages of this week’s issue of Entertainment Weekly … here is the magazine cover and an excerpt from the coverstory that contains no spoilers but gives you a good understanding of what the article is all about:

With The Dark Knight, Nolan and Bale return to Gotham City for a second, even moodier and more savage installment of the superhero franchise they revamped in 2005 with Batman Begins. The movie delivers on its promise, pitting Batman against the freaky new fiend in psychotic cosmetics who robs banks and blows up hospitals for the sheer anarchic kick of it. Most of the familiar faces (and one new Two-Face) are on board, including wry butler Alfred (Michael Caine), stalwart police detective Gordon (Gary Oldman), and lawyer-slash-love interest Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal, taking over the role from Katie Holmes), as well as a new crusading district attorney named Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart). The Dark Knight has everything fans expect from the series: gizmos like a sleek new ”Bat Pod” motorcycle, eye-popping stunts (most performed the old-fashioned way, with real stuntmen and real explosions), and, of course, the brooding Bale, arguably the best, certainly the most serious actor ever to growl under the cowl. Still, when the film opens July 18, Ledger will be Topic A. His turn in The Dark Knight would have been widely talked about this summer even if the 28-year-old actor hadn’t died of an accidental prescription-drug overdose last January. It might have even earned him another Oscar nomination (it still could, posthumously). Now the performance is shrouded in tragedy, though, and may well be Ledger’s last cinematic testament (it’s unclear what Terry Gilliam will, or can, do with the actor’s unfinished footage from The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus). And that loads The Dark Knight with a poignancy its creators never anticipated. Certainly one they never desired. Along with the grief it caused friends and family, Ledger’s death cast a shadow of uncertainty over the film. It had Warner Bros. reexamining its entire marketing plans for the movie, conducting taste tests on the appropriateness of Ledger’s clown face on publicity stills and in trailers. Hardly the way the studio had hoped it would be launching its biggest summer thrill ride.

To be honest, I haven’t even read the entire coverstory for fear of reading too much about the movie that is still over a week away from release. If you are so inclined, you can read the article online HERE and risk the spoilers for yourself (a new trailer for The Dark Knight ran in front of Hancock last night and I tried to cover my eyes … there’s just so much TDK stuff out there that I don’t want to see any more until the movie comes out on the 18th). Even still … there is a lot of cool stuff that I think we can see safely, without fear of spoiling the movie. After the jump, check out a photo of Heath Ledger wearing The Joker prosthetics on his face but without make-up … it’s kind of an eerie thing to see …

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