Speaking in Italy where “Inception” only recently hit theaters, Christopher Nolan dropped an intriguing little nugget about the third installment of his celebrated Batman franchise saying that the picture isn’t greenlit yet, adding “They haven’t told me they don’t want to do it, so I’m hopeful,” he joked.
Variety has since scrubbed the comment from their story but Batman News snagged the remarks before they went away. Now before geeks everywhere furrow their brows, it’s not at all surprising that Warner Bros. hasn’t officially flipped the switch. Undoubtedly, the film is very actively in development and its likely that studio heads are waiting for a firm budget number which they won’t really have until casting, locations, marketing, etc. are figured out and finalized. So, nothing to worry about, just a project that still needs to get a bit closer to the starting line.
Speaking of the starting line, “The Hobbit” seems to have been there forever and as MGM still gets debt extensions and continues in endless talks for someone to save them from their sinking financial ship, the production is still pressing forward so that if and when the studio is saved, everything will be in place to start shooting almost immediately.
With that in mind, an ad recently appeared in the Wellington Dominion Post (see above) from the Hobbit Casting Department looking for Scale Doubles. Sources confirmed that the casting is indeed for the highly anticipated film, but of course, it remains to be seen if the tentatively scheduled January start will come to fruition.
