With The Dark Knight continuing to break box office records (it went up to #3 all-time over the weekend, and is poised to surpass Star Wars before the weekend), the rumors are now flying fast and furious on the inevitable sequel.

Christian Bale is purportedly signed to do at least one more Batman movie, but for now, Christopher Nolan wants to do something else before committing to another sequel. Supposedly, Nolan began the writing and preproduction on The Dark Knight not long after Batman Begins came out, but this time he wants to take a break. With so much money to be made, I hope the producers don't try something foolish like replacing Nolan so they can fast-track another sequel. The last time the Batman series tried the quick turnaround, the result was the disastrous Batman and Robin.

For casting the villain, the rumors currently point to Johnny Depp as The Riddler, and Philip Seymour Hoffman as The Penguin. Seeing how Depp can make just about any character his own, he would obviously be a solid choice for the role. However, another rumor points to David Tennant (the current Doctor Who) actively pursuing the role while the producers pursue Depp. Personally, I'm actually more intrigued by Tennant, who's probably the most charismatic Doctor since Tom Baker.

But, obviously Depp would bring tremendous star power to the role, and that's precisely what concerns me. Nolan's Batman series thus far has refreshingly steered clear of superstars. A lot of solid character actors in the key roles, and even Heath Ledger was not a huge box office draw when he got cast as The Joker.

Other rumors (or at least fanboy wishful thinking) include Angelina Jolie as Catwoman. The only potential character introduction that likely won't happen is Robin ... both Nolan and Bale have indicated that they would not want any part in that.

What brought down the previous Batman movie series was the inevitable temptation to make each sequel bigger and glitzier, with more villains, more sidekicks, more everything (except common sense and attention paid to the storyline). With two major villains and one major box office star in one of those roles, this would come dangerously close to the star vehicle formula that Joel Schumacher used in his Batman movies.

I trust that Nolan will make the right choices and steer clear of the excesses and star focus from the previous Batman series. But, the potential is there to totally botch the franchise all over again.