Given that it was Michael Caine that gave fuel to the rumour (although, to be fair, rumours surrounding the next Batman film don't seem to need much fuel at all), it seems almost fitting that it's Michael Caine who slams the lid on it too. As part of the promotional tour for his upcoming film Harry Brown, he spoke to MTV and clarified a few matters.

Firstly, on the status of the film, Caine has said that "There is nobody, there's no script, there's nothing. It can't possibly be made before 2011 because Inception [director Christopher Nolan's current project] is such a big picture."

Can we play the idle speculation game here then? If Caine is saying that Batman 6/The Dark Knight 2/Batman 3 (take your pick) can't get going until Inception is done and dusted, that does lead you to think that Christopher Nolan will indeed be returning to the bat chair? Or are we playing a loose game of dot joining here?

He was more definite on the reports that Johnny Depp would be playing The Riddler, however. "There is no Johnny Depp in this Batman," Caine asserted, adding "They tell me that in no uncertain terms."

That's cleared that up then. Until the next round of rumours start anyway...

Harry Brown is out next month, incidentally. And you can read Caine's interview with MTV here.