Clark Kent says: ‘Batman: Arkham City’ is shaping up to pick up where its predecessor left off and leave it in the dust. The Riddler is back and before you click the jump, ask yourself this question, “To punch or not to punch.”

VIA VG247:

“As with nearly every area of the game we’re enhancing it. One example is the criminal database coupled with the new interrogation mechanic,” game director Sefton Hill told PSM3 (via CVG).

“The Riddler continues to taunt the Dark Knight with mind-bending puzzles and exploration challenges, but the location of his biggest secrets are known only to him and people he’s told. Rather than unlocking their locations using maps, Batman will be able to scan a gang of thugs to find a potential informant.”

Obviously, though, interrogating someone who’s unconscious and nursing multiple concussions is kind of difficult. The solution? Float like a butterfly and sting like a psychotic man in a bat suit until all his buddies are down for the count. After that, question away!

“This is the guy you need to question, but first you’ll have to take down all the other gang members while sparing the one you want. That can be tough when Batman’s in a seamless FreeFlow combo chain,” Hill explained. 

Clark Kent says: Got an answer? Share it in the comments section below.

Natalie Portman may be Warner Brothers’ number one choice for the part of Lois Lane in the upcoming Superman reboot, reports Moviehole.

Clark Kent says: Seems like Natalie is caught up in a few rumors these days. More news after the jump.

VIA SHH:

The site reports that Portman was in the running for the part as far back as Superman Returns and that the recently rumored addition of Black Swan director Darren Aronofsky to the alleged studio short list may be a sign that negotiations for the part are back on the table.

The project, written by David Goyer and Jonathan Nolan, is to be “godfathered” by Batman Begins and The Dark Knight director Christopher Nolan. The recent “short list” is also said to include Duncan Jones (Moon, Source Code), Jonathan Liebesman (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning, Battle: Los Angeles and just-signed for Clash of the Titans 2), Matt Reeves (Cloverfield, Let Me In), Tony Scott (True Romance, Unstoppable), and Zack Snyder (Watchmen, 300).

The first ever actress to play Lois Lane was Rolly Bester, who voiced the character on the 1940′s radio adaptation. Subsequently, the part has been played by over a dozen actresses in a variety of media. Margot Kidder famously played the part in four Superman films with Kate Bosworth assuming the role for 2006′s Superman Returns. Currently, Erica Durance portrays the character on the television series, Smallville.

Clark Kent asks: Can Natalie Portman follow in these ladies footsteps? Speak your piece below in the comments section.

Clark Kent says: Anybody who knows me knows that Batman is my role model. Word of a new adventure chronicling an amalgam of different DC adventures has me hype — but is it worth your dollars and cents? Find out after the jump!

GOOD: ‘Batman: Under the Red Hood’ is an entertaining and rather violent melding of some classic Dark Knight material. Wonderfully produced — this flick is full of great voice-work and some stellar Batman-styled action. Pushing the PG-13 boundary the theme of loss, betrayal, the thin line separating good and evil, and vengeance find audiences wowed by the next level job provided by DC Comics. Taking pieces of ‘A Death in the Family,’ ‘Under the Hood,’ and ‘The Killing Joke,’ Bruce Greenwood does his best Kevin Conroy impression — adding an element of emotion to Batman. Jensen Ackles (Supernatural) is outstanding as Red Hood — digging his heels into the role, providing grit and grief for The Dark Knight. John DiMaggio (Futurama) gives an interesting, albeit gruffer take, on The Joker. Illustrated by Doug Mahnke with the script penned by Judd Winick (The Life and Times of Juniper Lee) — ‘Batman: Under the Red Hood’ has a healthy blend of action and drama that helps the plot pace along at a frenetic rate.

BAD: Bat-fans the world over already know the drama involved with the Red Hood and Batman, but in director Brandon Vietti’s (Superman: Doomsday) world — it’s not too hard to figure out the big plot twist. The flow of the story makes it easy to predict the next turn and with a run-time of 75-minutes, ‘Batman: Under the Red Hood’ just doesn’t feel long enough. References to ‘The Killing Joke,’ Barbara Gordon’s “crippling,” and dialog ripped straight from the pages of Frank Miller’s ‘The Dark Knight Returns’ could have benefited from getting some animated scenes.

UGLY: ‘Batman: Under the Red Hood‘ has a lot to offer for those who are fans and newcomers of the legendary DC franchise. The violence throughout the film manages to get a PG-13 rating even with the adult themes but manage to never be too scary for youngsters to enjoy. Fans may miss Kevin Conroy as Batman, but Bruce Greenwood does the Dark Knight justice, as well as Jensen Ackles, John DiMaggio, and Neil Patrick Harris. Harris brings his clever wit and rapid-fire delivery to the role of Nightwing — while DiMaggio is compelling as The Joker. Viewers will enjoy the film’s themes that balance out the story — and will equally be impressed by the animation quality in ‘Batman: Under the Red Hood‘. The Caped Crusader’s long and illustrious history on DVD is untarnished as Brandon Vietti’s flick is Tarantino-meets-Frank-Miller.

Clark Kent says: In other words… See It! This flick will be in stores tomorrow (7/27). Make sure you get your copy ASAP! Got an opinion? Share it in our comments section below and enjoy the trailer:

Warner Bros. Pictures has set a July 20, 2012 release date for Christopher Nolan’s third Batman movie in conventional and IMAX theaters!

Clark Kent says: The question remains who will be the villains, will there be a Joker easter egg, and will Nolan make Christian Bale change his Batman voice? More after the jump.

VIA SHH:

The film would be slated to drop in theaters a little over two weeks after Sony Pictures releases their Spider-Man reboot on July 3, 2012.

Nolan’s second Batman movie, The Dark Knight, opened July 18, 2008 and earned more than $1 billion at the worldwide box office.

Clark Kent says: The Nolan Brothers are working with David Goyer on another project… Can you guess what it is?

Last week, news broke that David Goyer was exiting ABC’s “FlashForward” as showrunner so that he can again concentrate on his feature career.

Clark Kent says: It’s interesting to see how folks are looking for anything, but Goyer gives up some goodies after the jump.

VIA SHH:

“As my feature projects have started ramping up again, I felt I was being pulled in too many directions,” Goyer said. “I’m proud of the show and excited about the relaunch. It’s in great hands.”

Once again buried in a story on Deadline Hollywood is the revelation that one of those features is none other than The Dark Knight follow-up:

Of course, Goyer’s feature career is really heating up, since he co-wrote Batman Begins, and penned the story for The Dark Knight, and is now writing the third Batman installment with Chris Nolan’s brother Jonah.

Clark Kent says: Will Johnny Depp be The Riddler? Will Megan Fox take the role of Catwoman? Stay tuned as more breaks about this story!

ComingSoon.net reports that James Cameron’s Avatar has reached $1.02 billion at the worldwide box office after just 17 days, surpassing the $1 billion earned by The Dark Knight in 2008. It also broke Spider-Man’s third weekend record domestically.

Clark Kent says: Jimmy you’re a bankable director. I still have yet to see ‘Avatar’… A part of me wants to wait till it hits the DVD circuit so I can just watch it from the comfort of my own home… it’s cold outside!

VIA SHH:

James Cameron’s Avatar (20th Century Fox) continues to be one of the biggest box office phenomenons of the decade–much like Titanic in the prior decade–having grossed $350 million after just 17 days and crossing the one billion mark worldwide. It set a new Near Year’s Day weekend box office record with its estimated $68.3 million, down just 10% from Christmas weekend and making it the highest third weekend gross for a movie domestically (surpassing the $45 million made by Spider-Man in 2002).

By next weekend, Cameron’s comeback will hit the $400 million mark and by next Sunday, it should pass Michael Bay’s Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen to become the highest-grossing movie of 2009, as well as breaking into the Top 10 highest-grossing movies (domestically) of all time.

Internationally, Avatar has grossed $670.2 million which brings its worldwide total to $1.02 billion, making it the fourth-highest grossing movie worldwide EVER, and that’s after being in theaters for only 17 days, too. It has surpassed the worldwide gross for The Dark Knight and only needs $46 million more to beat Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest. (Currently, Cameron’s Titanic still holds the worldwide grossing record with $1.84 billion with $600 million of that domestically.)

Clark Kent says: You can peep the rest of this story by clicking here!

Some news that IGN missed last week about a little-known comic-book movie franchise called Batman.

Clark Kent says: Michael Caine had gave us some insight on what he thought ‘Batman 3′ would be like. But will it be with Christopher Nolan? Find out after the jump.

VIA IGN:

Batman On Film reports that director Christopher Nolan and studio Warner Bros. will officially announce their plans for Batman 3 in January.

Their scooper told the site: “The longer we don’t hear a Nolan/B3 announcement in 2010, the less likely it is that the director will return.”

There have been so many rumors and counter-rumors about Batman 3 over the past year, so here’s hoping BOF’s source is true, and that 2010 brings some kind of official news about the project.

Clark Kent says: Because you can’t just leave us hanging like that Nolan!

Inception took over the streets of Downtown Los Angeles, California on September 20, 2009 with many onlookers as Leonardo DiCaprio and Ellen Page took to the set.

Clark Kent says: Have only heard quiet rumblings about this film. Find out the plot and see the trailer after the jump.

VIA V:

Leonardo DiCaprio will star in Inception, the science-fiction film that Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight) wrote and will direct as his next pic at Warner Bros.

The project shoots this year and is slated to be released in summer 2010, with Nolan and Emma Thomas producing. DiCaprio’s deal is in final negotiations.

Script has been kept under wraps but the studio calls it a contemporary sci-fi actioner set within the architecture of the mind.

DiCaprio, coming off “Revolutionary Road” and “Body of Lies,” will next be seen starring in the Martin Scorsese-directed “Shutter Island” at Paramount.

Clark Kent says: I don’t know about this one… DiCaprio has hit his stride since ‘Blood Diamonds’ and ‘The Departed’ – this could be his first dud. You judge for yourselves on this one:

First Johnny Depp is thinking about bailing on Jack Sparrow in the completely necessary Pirates sequel, and now he’s possibly out of the Batman movie that he was never actually a part of in the first place? What’s going on here? Find out after the jump.

VIA JB:

This latest bit of info comes from Michael Caine talking to MTV News about the current non-status of Batman 3. He may not know much, but he’s pretty sure that Depp won’t be in it. Well, probably not. Maybe not.

“There is nobody, there’s no script, there’s nothing…It can’t possibly be made before 2011 because ‘Inception’ is such a big picture.”

“[They] won’t tell me anything because I said this before,” laughed Caine of the no-tell policy surrounding him after last year’s Depp/Hoffman story. Nevertheless, Caine offered this bit of “news”—before admitting that it could be wrong, and he’d be in trouble all over again.

“Johnny Depp is great in anything, but there is no Johnny Depp in this Batman,” he smiled. “They tell me in no uncertain terms.”

Clark Kent says: I don’t want Chris Nolan to just got for A-list talent in hopes of knocking it out of the box office park. His casting choices so far have been really smart. Let’s hope he doesn’t cave in to peer pressure.

According to the PS3 news ticker, Batman: Arkham Asylum’s getting free DLC on September 17, and Eidos has confirmed that it will be made available for PC and Xbox 360 as well.

VIA VG247:

This bit was confirmed as a multiplatform DLC release when a spokesperson replied to a question regarding it on the official Batman forums.

“I’m happy to inform you, it will arrive at the same time,” read the reply.

Meanwhile, over on PlayStation Lifestyle (thanks, Gekidami), it’s being rumored that the content is the Insane Night DLC Pack, which contains the Dem Bones Scarecrow Challenge and Crime Alley Challenge Map Packs which where available through GameStop preorders and Collector’s Edition purchases.

Prey in the Darkness DLC Pack, supposedly coming September 24th, is also being reported as one of the upcoming bits, and is rumored as a PS3 exclusive.

We’ll send an email off to Eidos and see if anyone bites. Don’t count on it though.