With people heading out to midnight showings of what is bound to end up as one of the biggest movies of the year, Batman Begins, sequel rumors are already swirling. It’s a standard studio marketing technique, get your soon to be released movie in the news by leaking news about the next movie. As usual, we’re biting.

Right now, Dark Horizons is leading the Batman sequel info charge, and today kicked things off with a tidbit about who will play Joker in the next Batman flick. The answer? Despite rumors to the contrary, absolutely no one yet, “They're not letting any unknowns test for the villains of the next movie. NO official casting has begun, ONLY the odd meeting. They will be looking at securing names AFTER the release of Begins.”

It seems likely that Warner Brothers, when they do actually start looking at actors will want a name. So far the names being tossed around include really horrible choices like Robin Williams and Adam Sandler. There’s also a rumor that it could be Mark Hamill, started no doubt because of his incredible voice work playing the Joker in Batman’s animated incarnations. Hamill captures the Joker’s voice BRILLIANTLY, but whether or not he could pull it off in live action is something else entirely. Still, even if he crashed and burned I’d love to see Mark finally get a shot at another big time movie role. He’s waited long enough.

Also in the rumor mill is more talk of the Batman vs. Superman movie that’s been floating around since long before Nolan took on Batman Begins. With both the Superman and Batman franchises finally back in play, a crossover like that makes more sense than ever. Well, Christian Bale (the guy playing that rodent fellow) doesn’t agree. In an interview with DH he dimissed the recently resurrected Superman vs. Batman talk as being a long ways off: “You know, I think that would be a ways down track. I haven't read it. There is a, I believe, a comic-book or a graphic novel, which is specifically about that. I haven't read that one, either. Y'know: I mean, if it was something good, but I think that would be something way down track, if that was ever to happen.”

At least he didn’t deny the existence of a Superman vs. Batman script. The script is out there, but if it is anywhere near production, Bale isn’t involved in it.