Nolan announces 'Batman 3' title

Christopher Nolan has announced the title of the third instalment of his blockbuster Batman franchise - it will be called 'The Dark Knight Rises'. 

Neither will the film be in 3D format nor will iconic villain The Riddler fill in The Joker's shoes in the third outing about the caped crusader's efforts to keep Gotham city crime-free, Nolan said in an interview to Los Angeles Times' Hero Complex blog. 'The Dark Knight Rises' will be distributed byWarner Bros. The first movie was 'Batman Begins' that released in 2005, but it was part two – 'The Dark Knight' - that went on to gross over a billion dollars worldwide when released in 2008. It also fetched Australian actor Heath Ledger a posthumous Oscar for his stupendous performance.

Nolan steers clear of the 3D technology that took Hollywood by storm after the success of James Cameron's 'Avatar' as he wants to focus on the high definition cameras and IMAX technology.

The director, whose last outing 'Inception' created ripples worldwide, stated that the third Batman film will follow many of the same characters from the previous films as well as a few new ones.

'The Dark Knight Rises' is slated to be released July 20, 2012.