The death of Heath Ledger who played the Joker in "The Dark Knight" rocked the world, especially Chris Nolan who planned to use the Joker again in Batman 3. With this unfortunate event happening, Nolan has sort of gone off the Batman franchise seeing his dream trilogy crumble. But with WB breathing down his neck to get their premire movie franchise back on track with Batman 3. Let's split the movie down and see what we can learn.
Director
WB wants Chris Nolan to stay on as Director, Writer and leader of the franchise but he isn't contracted to publicly may be behind the scenes. WB have said that a 3rd Batman movie will be in development and filming for a release before 2012 prefferably with Nolan but will move if they have to.
Everybody knows that Nolan will stay on it is just a case of motivating him to do so.
Plot
With the recent article by "Brent" on his sources "WB certain plot features" featuring the Riddler it is hard to say what will be happening. Gary Oldman who plays Commisioner James Gordon in the franchise has said that Batman 3 will involve him having to hunt down Batman knowing he is innocent and good for the city. He also let slip that the Riddler will be the main villain in Batman 3 but he soon rebuffed these comments soon after, highly likely he as told off by WB for letting slip key plot details. (These do back up Brent's article). I also think that the setting of Batman 3 will be set around a year after the events of The Dark Knight.
So if the Riddler is the main villain, will he be the only villain?? Jonathan Craine/Scarecrow cameoed in The Dark Knight before he was captured who could possibly appear again as a supporting villain. They could also get another actor to portray the Joker but this is highly unlikely as Nolan had much respect for Ledger. So if the Riddler determines Batman's identity, the plot could be for him to toy with Batman threatening to reveal it to the Gotham City and the world unless Batman plays his games and riddles. (David Goyer said that the next movie would involve Batman showing more of his detective skills) A lot of evidence does point towards the Riddler as the villain but I also think that Catwoman could be used as a secondary villain possibly becoming caught up in the Riddler's games starting out as just a cat thief for hire before helping Batman on occasion but also keeping him on his toes. Another angle could be Talia Al Ghul seeking revenge and employing the Riddler to play games with Batman in revenge. I also think that given the death of Rachel, Bruce will be less involved with Wayne Industries and more focues on Batman becoming even more brutal out on the streets trying to release his anger. There are lots of Possibities but one thing is for sure, the villains won't be Killer Croc, Mr. Freeze, Man-Bat none of the non-real world villains. Ones that could possibly be used are villains like Penguin, Bane, Deadshot, Black Mask...
Cast
Its pretty much confirmed that the main cast are signed on for a sequel. Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne, Michael Caine as Alfred Pennyworth, Gary Oldman as James Gordon and Morgan Freeman as Lucuis Fox. I also think that there may be other appearances from mob leaders from previous films, Eric Roberts as Sal Maroni may appear again perhaps with a limp or something from Two-Face's attack using this as ammunition against Batman who took the blame for Two-Face's murders. Johnny Depp has been heavily linked to the Riddler with Michael Caine saying that Depp had been approached by WB, Depp saying he would love to play the Riddler also. David Tennant, Brian Austin Green have also been linked. I would go for Depp as he has played lots of characters similar to the Riddler (Sleepy Hollow).
Release Date
Warner Bros. said that a Batman 3 would be released before the end of 2012 alogn with a Superman reboot, Green Lantern and Flash movies. Well Green Lantern is full steam, Flash has Geoff Johns on board and Superman is in lingo which is why his cameo in GL was removed. The release date will probobly be July 2012, 4 years after The Dark Knight. Chris Nolan has finished with Inception and will now focus on Batman 3.
Connecting the DCU
Nolan has said that his Batman universe is a real world universe not conected to the fantasy of the DC Comics universe. But if Brent's source is true, then WB must be pushing him into connecting them even if it is with sly comments here and there in the movie, like Marvel do with there movies. WB wanted a Superman cameo in Green Lantern but with the court case making the future look bleak, they removed it not wanting to cast Superman if they cannot make a future movie with the character.
Summary
All of the evidence DOES point towards the Riddler as the main villain in Batman 3, with the possibility of a second villain (Catwoman, Penguin, Black Mask) in toe. It is also strongly linked to being played by Depp. Nolan will definately direct PRIVATELY SPEAKING with Bale, Freeman, Oldman and Caine all returning. It will most likely be released in 2012 with the possibility of being the same year as the new Flash movie may be with some connection to the rest of the DC universe with a couple of comments. All in all, the future of Batman 3 isn't as bad as people make out I am definately looking forward to this movie and fully trust Nolan and his vision, even more if he is forced to reference the rest of the DC Universe!!
Enjoy