In an interview with MTV News, director Christopher Nolan says fans should expect a whole lot from The Dark Knight.

"In this case, literally, we were able to directly carry on and explore the idea that Gary Oldman brings up at the end of Batman Begins, which is the idea of escalation," said Nolan. "We have seen the rise of Batman, we have seen his rise to power, now what are the criminals going to do? How are they going to fight that? That's the jumping off point for this film, and we just ran with it as far as we could."

Christopher Nolan recently commented on the performance of Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight.

"The psychopathic clown, that's an icon to stand with the guy with the ears and cape. It's just a wonderful visual relationship, and it's a terrifying image. I think he'd be very pleased to see we're just moving ahead as is. If you try to honor somebody, you honor them by respecting their work and putting it out there for as many people to see.

He was immensely proud of the work he did on the film. I feel a great burden to present that in an undistorted form."

Added Producer Charles Roven about Ledger's own reaction to final product: "He was just blown away by his own performance. He said, 'Can I see it again?' So he was really, really thrilled."

Remember the end of Batman Begins? The fantastic movie ended with a warning from Lt. Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman) to Batman (Christian Bale) about "escalation" in crime and villainy now that there's a man in a batsuit prowling Gotham City.

Well, in a recent interview with The New York Times, Bale confirmed that "this escalation has now meant that he feels more of a duty to continue," and that the idea of Batman flying around the city has actually attracted more criminals to Gotham.

There's where The Dark Knight picks up.

Bale added: "And now you have not just a young man in pain attempting to find some kind of an answer, you have somebody who actually has power, who is burdened by that power, and is having to recognize the difference between attaining that power and holding on to it."

Meanwhile, the newspaper confirms that Ledger had completed work on the film before he died in January, and that Nolan feels a "massive sense of responsibility" to do justice to Ledger's final lead performance.

The director calls Ledger's portrayal of the Joker "stunning" and "iconic," as well as "terrifying" and "amazing."

The Dark Knight opens on July 18.

They may be the two most anticipated movies of 2008. (No offense, Iron Man and Sex and the City: The Movie).

With that in mind, here are a couple new images from and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and The Dark Knight:

When asked the similarities - yes, there are a couple - between his character of Harvey Dent/Two-Face and Batman in The Dark Knight, Aaron Eckhart told MTV:

"Well, they're both crime fighters. They both care about law and order. They both care about Gotham City. Although they come from different backgrounds, they share certain things. Pausing, he added, "[Things that] I cannot tell you about."

Might these two enemies also have something else in common? Namely, District Attorney Rachel Dawes? Eckhart says he'd love to say, but can't utter a word about any The Dark Knight spoilers.

"I can't comment on anything. I'm sorry. You gotta ask, but literally, if I ever want to work in this town again, I cannot say anything to you," he said, smiling. "[Chris Nolan] is a good man, but he's a tough man."

Among the major movies coming out this summer and next summer are The Dark Knight and Speed Racer. While you can watch the trailers for them now and check out various news items about the flicks, we know what many readers care about:

Toys!

Thanks to ComingSoon.net, here's a look at a couple of toys from these upcoming blockbusters:

Due to Heath Ledger's tragic passing, The Dark Knight is receiving even more attention than before. If that's even possible.

With that in mind, a new poster for the film has been released. Here's a look:

While the marketing campaign for The Dark Knight is inconsequential when compared with the effects of Heath Ledger's tragic death, it's still something the studio will need to consider.

Principal photography on the movie finished in the fall; and, as of Tuesday, the film is still scheduled for a July 18 opening.

But the status of the picture'ss marketing campaign is uncertain. The first phase is built around The Joker, with images of his character particularly ghoulish.

Warner executives were still grappling with the news on Tuesday and had no comment on how they would proceed.

"The studio is stunned and devastated by this tragic news," said Alan Horn, president-COO, Warner Bros. & Jeff Robinov, president, Warner Bros. Pictures Group. "Heath was a brilliant actor and an exceptional person."

In terms of The Dark Knight, one insider lamented:

"The Joker character is dealing with chaos and life and death and a lot of dark themes. Everyone is going to interpret every line out of his mouth in a different way now."

As the original Batman, it's interesting to her the take of Michael Keaton on the follow-ups to his franchise. MTV recently asked the actor about it:

MTV: What's your take on the latest Batman?
Keaton: I've only seen a little piece [of the sequels] here and there since I finished mine, not for any reason except that I didn't have any real interest.

The reason they weren't interesting was the reason I didn't want to do them anymore. I read the script [for "Batman Forever"]. I wasn't into it.

But how I wanted to do the third one is what they did in [Batman Begins]. I read an article about how they were going about it and I said, "That's exactly what I thought should be done." [Christopher Nolan] is so good and [Christian Bale] is so good. I really would like to see [Batman Begins]. I'm sure it's good and I'm sure [The Dark Knight] is going to be better.

A new poster advertising Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay makes us laugh.

But the latest for The Dark Knight? It makes us scared. And excited, of course.