Waiting for Batman 3

Problem: the third film in trilogies tends to be the worst: Godfather Part III, Spider-Man 3, X-Men 3, and arguably Return of the Jedi and Return of the King. With "Batman 3" confirmed and director Chris Nolan finally commenting on his plans to helm the film, I thought it would be a good time to give some thoughts on this pending third act of Nolan's Batman saga.

• Story:  First, in order to succeed, this movie has to do something no other superhero franchise has truly had the guts to do: close the book. Batman 3 needs to feel like the final chapter of Nolan's Batman story - particularly since we know Nolan isn't coming back for a Batman 4, and we can't risk another director coming in and screwing up everything good that Nolan established (a la Joel Schumacher's Batman and Robin). 
• Theme: To do Batman 3 right, I think Nolan needs to go back to an idea in Batman Begins to bring the trilogy full-circle: the idea of becoming a legend. If this is the last part of Nolan's Batman saga, I think we need to see the fulfillment of Batman as an urban myth and incorruptible ideal. It'd also be nice to see him do a little detective work for once.
• Casting: DiCaprio or Gordon-Levitt. They're both in Inception. I'm placing my bet right now that one of them will be in the next Batman movie.

• Villain: This is the one everybody talks about the most. Nolan's pretty much confirmed that Joker won't make a reappearance in Batman 3. To be honest, I don't really care who the villain is, as long as it makes sense for the story. Talia al Ghul, Riddler, Hush, and Hugo Strange - any of them would make sense for this story. But we probably won't get any of them because everybody seems to want Riddler.

• Love Interest: If we have to have one, Talia al Ghul makes a lot of sense. Catwoman wouldn't be impossible, but her back-story would need some tweaking.
• Sidekick? There should NOT be a kid in circus tights helping Christian Bale solve mysteries. So Robin's out as a sidekick - but not necessarily removed as a character. For example, I've always liked the idea that Batman would take in an orphan because he needs to give a kid the childhood that Bruce Wayne was never allowed to finish.

• Film Title: The Dark Knight Returns. It grabs the attention of everyone who skipped Batman Begins but went to see Dark Knight, and it pleases the Comicon-demographic with a little literary reference.

Honestly, regardless of whether the next Batman film conforms to any of these ideas, I'll be there to see it. And you know you will be too.