Beaks here...
We've been hearing rumors to this effect for a while, but now the L.A. Times' intrepid Ben Fritz has confirmed it: THE DARK KNIGHT RISES will be the final chapter in Christopher Nolan's Batman run. Once he's finished, the character will be rebooted (with Nolan's input), and, most likely, attached to a narrative that will lead to a JUSTICE LEAGUE movie in 2013.
Fritz got all of this from WB president Jeff Robinov, who also briefly discussed the development of FLASH and WONDER WOMAN movies (the latter being wholly separate from David E. Kelley's goofy-looking TV adaptation). It sounds like they're hoping to mimic the Marvel strategy, which has been all about assembling THE AVENGERS for a 2012 release (production on that film is already underway). Nothing shocking there.
More interesting to me is Devin Faraci's observation that Nolan's THE DARK KNIGHT RISES will be the first time we see a filmmaker's superhero run reach a definitive end. While I'm told there's some nervousness (if not outright displeasure) about this at WB, there's very little they can do: this is Nolan's show, and he's going to finish it on his terms.
Which means WB will be watching the box office returns for Sony's THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN very closely...
