Perhaps one the most shocking and unconventional scenes in 2008's the Dark Knight involved the film's love interest, Rachel. Not only was it revolutionary for a superhero film, but was a powerful emotional punch. However, this also left the series devoid of female characters, something that director Christopher Nolan plans to rectify in the upcoming sequel.

According to Deadline and Comingsoon.net, Nolan has approached actresses Anne Hathaway, Keira Knightley, Blake Lively, Natalie Portman, Naomi Watts and Rachel Weisz for a villainous role and that of a new love interest. This adds fuel to the fire that Catwoman may appear as the villain for the upcoming Batman film. However, there is also Tom Hardy to consider, who was also recently cast for an atagonistic role.

Although many would not pin it at first glance, there is quiet a bit in common between Batman Begins and the newest Star Trek reboot directed by JJ Abrams. Both are widely sucessful attempts at rebooting franchises that had previously gone stale, and lost their touch with a modern generation. These similarities have been noted by the people who made the 2009 Star Trek possible.

According to reports and interviews conducted by E! with executive producers Bryan Burk and Damon Lindelof, the creators have been looking at what made the Dark Knight such a success for their attempt at a sequel. Lindelof mentions that The Dark Knight managed to expand upon the sucess of Batman Begins but at the same time making it more emotional and thematic. Star Trek 2 is also planned to be an even bigger film then the first.

Star Trek 2 will be released June 29, 2012.

It is a well known fact that in the summer of 2008 a little superhero film known as The Dark Knight took the film world by storm. Becoming a renowned critical and financial success, The Dark Knight's leading actor Heath Ledger won an Academy Award for his role as the sinister Joker.

However, despite massive speculation the Joker will not be returning as the villain in the newest Batman film. Christopher Nolan, the director of the Bataman blockbuster, told Empire Magazine that he is not comfortable with replacing Heath Ledger, who died during the filming of The Dark Knight.

Nolan also mentioned that he has begun working on the script and knows how the series will end: "My brother is working on the screenplay. We came up with a story that we are very excited about. We particularly like where we are taking the characters and what the ending is... There are things for me to be very excited about in addressing the characters again."

Although Nolan has not officially signed on to direct the sequel, he will stil be heavily involved in the next Batman film along with the upcoming Superman reboot. This sequel to the Man of Steel is due for release in 2012, the same year as the new Batman film. However, Nolan stressed that there will not be a connection between the two legendary superheroes like the new Marvel films.

2012 is shaping up to be the most crowded and chaotic summer in recent memory. Warner Bros. announced today that the sequel to the award winning The Dark Knight will premiere July 20, 2012, just several weeks after the controversial Spider-man reboot enters the fray. Batman will have his work cut out for him. The summer of 2012 is filled with big budget special effects movies that will certainly eat away at a potential audience. Batman faces opposition from the board game adaptation Battleship (May 25), Star Trek 2 (June 29), The Avengers (May 4), and the tentatively scheduled Godzilla reboot. One things for sure, 2012 will end the world with a cinematic bang.