Want to know what Christopher Nolan has to say about Batman AND Superman?

Well, look no further than this article from Coming Soon:

Empire magazine talked to Christopher Nolan, whose new film Inception opens July 16, and got some great quotes from the helmer on the next Batman movie, coming July 20, 2012, and next Superman movie, targeted for a holiday 2012 release.

It was recently revealed that he would take on a mentor (or "godfather") role for the Superman movie, but he's not that comfortable with that title. "It's much more specific than that," he explained, "What it is, while David Goyer and myself were putting together the story for another Batman film a few years ago - you know, thrashing out where we might move on from 'The Dark Knight' - we got stuck. We were just sitting there idly chatting and he said, ' By the way, I think I know how you approach Superman,' and he told me his take on it. I thought it was really tremendous. It was the first time I had been able to conceive of how you would address Superman in a modern context. I thought it was a very exciting idea."

Nolan said he took that idea and pitched it to Warner Bros., and the studio got excited, too. "But it's not something for me to direct," he added. "It's something we were just trying to put together a vision for, and then find the right person to take it forward."

What's important to Nolan is finding the core of what makes the character so indelible; he favors the back-to-basics approach. "What you have to remember with both Batman and Superman," he told the magazine, "is that what makes those the best superhero characters there are, the most beloved after all this time, is the essence of who those characters were when they were created and when they were first developed. And you can't ever move too far from that."

He still hasn't officially signed on to direct new Batman movie. "No I haven't. There is a point where you're just being precious about it and people get annoyed, but the God's honest truth is I work on one movie at a time. I'm only capable of doing that, so my head will continue to be firmly in ['Inception'] for another few months."
There are some things, though, that Nolan can confirm. "My brother is working on the screenplay. We came up with a story that we are very excited about. We particularly like where we are taking the characters and what the ending is... There are things for me to be very excited about in addressing the characters again. But ultimately it always comes down to the script, and can we make a great film from this? That's something I will firmly be turning my attention to figuring out fairly soon." It will be, he said, "the finishing of a story rather than infinitely blowing up the balloon and expanding the story."

Empire asked whether the villain could be a returning (and recast) Joker. "No," said Nolan resisting to elaborate, "I just don't feel comfortable about it."

Nolan reiterated that you won't be seeing a Batman/Superman crossover in his movies. "Marvel are doing what they do and people will respond to that really well, or they won't," said Nolan. "It's not something I ever really applied a blanket rule to, but Marvel characters are very different to DC characters, and the key DC characters are very different to the minor DC characters. You've got to go back to that element of, 'What do I see when I close my eyes and think of Batman? What do I see when I close my eyes and think of Superman?' And for me a big part of that is their individuality. They are extraordinary beings in an ordinary world. And the reason I think the two are fascinating is because Superman is very specifically superpowered and obviously otherworldly; Batman is very human and flawed. They're two very different characters, but there's an elemental feeling of power in the iconography of those characters. To me that's originally because they stood alone. I need to hang on to that in my imagining of them."

-Very interesting quotes there...thoughts?

Prepare for the next 'Batman' movie to hit theaters on July 20, 2012!

Big news dropping today, via Box Office Mojo:

In one of the most anticipated announcements in recent memory, Warner Bros. officially set a date this morning for the follow-up to The Dark Knight. Tentatively known as Batman 3, the movie will debut July 20, 2012 in conventional and IMAX theaters, almost exactly four years after The Dark Knight opened to record-breaking numbers.

At this time, there are no details available regarding the plot or the cast, though it is assumed that Christian Bale at least will be reprising his role as Bruce Wayne/Batman. Warner Bros. was also unable to confirm whether or not Batman Begins and Dark Knight writer-director Christopher Nolan would be taking on those responsibilities again for part three.

Thanks to a wealth of factors including the perceived quality of Batman Begins, the promise of The Joker as the villain, the publicity surrounding star Heath Ledger's performance and untimely death and the movie's overwhelmingly positive reviews, The Dark Knight debuted to an astounding $158.4 million, setting an opening weekend record that has yet to be topped. By the end of its run, The Dark Knight banked $533.4 million, making it only the second movie ever to cross the $500 million mark at the time (since then, Avatar has also reached this milestone). Worldwide, The Dark Knight accumulated just over $1 billion, putting it in the top five all-time.

The Spider-Man reboot, set to debut on July 3, 2012, is the only other release currently scheduled for July 2012. Other high-profile movies scheduled for Summer 2012 are The Avengers (May 4), Madagascar 3 (May 18), Battleship (May 25), Disney/Pixar's Brave (June 15) and the Untitled Star Trek Sequel (June 29).

-The summer of 2012 could be shaping up to be a big one...thoughts?

Christopher Nolan talks Batman AND Superman!

And while he doesn't give up much info in his interview (you can find the full interview on any number of sites, including the following snippets on The Hollywood Reporter), there are some nice tidbits, which I'll show now:

Nolan confirms he is acting as "godfather" for the Superman movie -- I can tell you that at the end of the day, he is acting as a producer and will likely be credited that way -- and talks about not only Superman but the third Batman movie.

Some choice tidbits:

- The Superman movie and Batman movie will not be linked in any way. "They have nothing to do with each other," Nolan says. (But where does that leave the Justice League movie?)

- The idea for the movie occurred when David Goyer and Nolan were at an impasse on the third Batman and Goyer ran his Superman idea by Nolan.

- The third Batman is the final chapter in the story that Nolan is telling. "The key thing that makes the third film a great possibility for us is that we want to finish our story,” he says. “And in viewing it as the finishing of a story rather than infinitely blowing up the balloon and expanding the story.”

- Nolan stays mum on villains, but says, "It won't be Mr. Freeze."

- The best line in the piece, by the way, came when when the intrepid reporter tried to find out who the Superman villains would be, to which Nolan responds, "That’s a very sly way of asking a question I’m not going to answer."

-Thoughts?

Speaking of 'Batman', is Christopher Nolan involved in both a new bat-flick AND a new 'Superman' movie?

Well, yes, according to reports, though he's only "god-fathering" the Man of Steel flick. Nikki Finke and Mike Fleming have a story about this here, but this is a taste:

Warner Bros is trying to ready its DC Comics stalwart Superman to soar again on the Big Screen, and the studio has turned to Chris Nolan to mentor development of the movie. Our insiders say that the brains behind rebooted Batman has been asked to play a "godfather" role and ensure The Man Of Steel gets off the ground after a 3 1/2-year hiatus. Nolan's leadership of the project can set it in the right direction with the critics and the fans, not to mention at the box office. Besides, Nolan is considered something of a god at Warner Bros and has a strong relationship with the studio after the success of Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. Though he wasn’t obligated to do so, he gave the studio first crack at his spec script Inception, and Warner Bros was able to buy it before other studios even got a sniff. While Nolan completes that Leonardo DiCaprio-starrer for a July 16th release, he's also hatched an idea for Warner Bros' third Batman installment. Now his brother and frequent collaborator Jonathan "Jonah" Nolan, and David Goyer who co-wrote Batman Begins and penned the story for The Dark Knight, are off scripting it.

-Thoughts on Nolan's superhero plate?