Earlier last week we posted that Warner Brothers and IMAX signed a 20 movie deal one of the films included in the deal was Batman 3 so many expected we;d see it before 2013 when the deal is up but now we know we will see another sequel in 2012.

Box Office Mojo is reporting that Warner Brothers has set a July 20, 2012 release date for Batman 3.

The release date mirrors the release of the studio’s previous sequel The Dark Knight, which opened on July 18, 2008 and took in a whopping $533.1 million at the domestic box office and more than $1 billion worldwide.

Umm…this is also interesting because it’s worth noting that the release date comes just a few weeks after Sony’s Untitled Spider-Man Reboot, which is set for release on July 3, 2012. As of now, they are the only two films slated for a July 2012 release.

Can’t wait to see those two battle it out. So fanboys mark your calendars and let the Batman watch begin while we countdown to July 2012.  Also everyone should know that Chris Nolan said there was a story idea in place and that it would be the last film in his franchise.

So there still seems to be talk about the sequel to the Dark Knight, especially as buzz for Nolan’s Inception is beginning to build and that’s where the guys over at AICN say that Nolan and the WB are already making plans on the style of the next film.

Ain’t It Cool News has reportedly heard a rumor that Nolan and Warner Bros. are going to follow-up The Dark Knight with a third film and that it will be shot entirely in IMAX format.

Here’s what they had to say:

The third chapter of Christopher Nolan’s caped crusader’s saga could very well be fully shot in IMAX, not IMAX Digital – but the beautiful, stunning IMAX that we saw pieces of in The Dark Knight.

Now this is something that I’m sure a lot of you will feel is a no-brainer. Nolan blew us away with the IMAX sequences in that film – but it was a very tough process to work in. Mainly due to the limitations of how many available real IMAX rigs there are. Not only that, but lenses had to be created, adapted and God forbid one broke down. Part of the reason that Nolan went forward with Inception first – besides taking a creative break from the cape and cowl adventures… was possibly to create a few new IMAX cameras made to his specs. Once again – the cost of shooting an entire feature film on IMAX… the stock, the time it takes to reset, to load, to move the cameras… Well… it is daunting, but as Nolan proved with The Dark Knight - the difference is stunning.

So like most big films, one is never enough, for Batman Begins a sequel was destined, now more than ever it is perhaps the biggest question on everyone’s mind, will there be a sequel to The Dark Knight? Right now, director Christopher Nolan believes that answer may have to just stay unanswered, for now.

In an article from the USA Today, Christopher Nolan, talked about the release of the long awaited film on Blu-ray and DVD. Giving fans an insight on what to expect from the DVD. In the press conference he did mentioned some interesting thoughts about a sequel telling the news outlet that,

“Nolan is jotting notes and doing some rough outlines for a third story, but he hasn’t yet found anything he’s willing to commit to film, despite Warner Bros.’ eagerness to get a new film underway.”

Nolan says,

“It was obvious when the box office was so big ($530 million domestically) that we had underestimated how ready fans were to reboot the franchise,” he says. “The worst thing you could do now that you’ve gotten the plane back in the air is mess up the landing.”

Last we heard DC and Warner Brothers were waiting on Nolan to commit to a thrid film before they announce release dates for other comic book staples such as Wonder Woman, The Flash and The Green Lantern. I think the fact he is having ideas and jotting down notes and outlines means he is understading of the opportunity to do a third film. However, I truly believe if Nolan feels that a third story isn’t good, he will not commit to the film, but Warner Brothers will do another Batman that I am sure!

So sometimes it is nice to be right. I am sure I wasn’t the only one who thought this but it is nice to know you were right nonetheless. We now know who we won’t be seeing in another Christopher Nolan Batman film. CHUD recently spoke to Aaron Eckhart, who played Harvey Dent/Two-Face in the The Dark Knight and the actor said there are no plans for his character’s return.

“He’s dead,” Eckhart said before the question was even finished. Eckhart also mentioned that he asked that very same question to director Christopher Nolan while filming The Dark Knight.

“I asked Chris if there was a chance of coming back. ‘No way,’ he said. ‘He’s toast.’”

The Dark Knight is still running through the theaters and has grossed a massive $505.4 million domesitcally, so far. So anyway,  Iexpected this and assuming Nolan is a man of his word and Eckhart isn’t out of the loop I think we can all move on and continue speculating which villain will rise to take on the Bat in the next movie, if there is one.