When you have a monster like The Dark Knight, there’s no question that there’s going to be another movie to follow it. The only question is who is going to head it up and how quickly can the studio get it into production. So far there’s been no real movement other than idle talk, most of which has been rumored, but we know it’s only a matter of time before Warner Brothers starts making some huge announcements. Until then, we simply have to scour every interview people like Christian Bale or Christopher Nolan give to find clues about the future of the franchise.

In a recent interview with the LA Times, Nolan talked about the perceived politics behind The Dark Knight and just how much of a foundation had been laid for the third film. Surprisingly, the answer is - none at all. Nolan swears he takes these things one movie at a time, and nothing in The Dark Knight was specifically intended to lay the foundation for another story.

The one disconcerting thing about the interview is a question about the chance that Nolan might not helm a third Batman picture. The director offers a slyly crafted ambiguous answer: ”There are two things to be said. One is the emphasis on story. What’s the story? Is there a story that’s going to keep me emotionally invested for the couple of years that it will take to make another one? That’s the overriding question. On a more superficial level, I have to ask the question: How many good third movies in a franchise can people name?”

Hmmm… by the sounds of that, there may be a very good chance that Nolan decides not to sign on for a third picture. After all, he’s right, how many good third movies can you name? Still, if anyone can, I truly believe Christopher Nolan can deliver a solid third movie, especially because he knows the story is more important than the razzle-dazzle most third chapters fall into. If the franchise winds up in someone else’s hands, I predict we’ll wind up with a studio driven spectacle instead of the substance we’ve gotten from Batman Begins and The Dark Knight.