The Dark Knight is still months away and the very possibility of yet another Bale & Nolan Batman sequel gets me excited. Christian Bale sat down with Entertainment Weekly to talk about the Batman series when it returns next on July 18, 2008. You can read the whole interview here, but the good stuff came up amidst the rest:

EW: So do you think there will be a part 3 of Batman?
Christian Bale: Um, look, let’s wait and see…

EW: Or, I guess it’d be part 7.
Bale: No, no, no, no, no. [Smiling] Part 3 is what I’d consider it, yeah, I don’t say part 7. Batman begins — that was the beginning there, with all due respect to the others. We are re-creating this. You know, obviously the decision is out of my hands. I would, knowing the Dark Knight story, I would like very much to complete a trilogy. And I think that knowing the story of The Dark Knight, it leaves you anticipating something that really can get very, very interesting for a third. Now, the question would be: Is Chris going to be doing it? Because to me I find it tricky to imagine working on it without it being a collaboration with Chris.

I would find it terribly difficult to imagine without Chris Nolan coming back as well. We’ve already seen the dangers of changing the influence and cast too many times with Batman (Thanks for nothing Batman Forever and Batman & Robin!), so unless they hold on to Bale and Nolan it just wouldn’t be the same. Sure, the studio would still make it ($$$) but would you really want to see it?