The Bat Signal's Been Answered! WB Announces BATMAN 3 Release Date!

Just a couple of days ago, Warner Brothers and IMAX inked a deal have as many as 20 of the studio's tentpole films released in the expansive format. The press release pushed that it was to last until 2013, with the most notable film on the list being Batman 3. Speculation shot off almost immediately, with most analysts suggesting a summer 2012 or 2013 release date.

Today Warner Brothers decided to shut everybody up for the moment by announcing through an internal email that Batman 3 will indeed hit theaters in the summer of 2012, specifically July 20 2012.

That date puts it right in the thick of an already jam packed summer, as it follows just a few short weeks after the Marc Webb helmed Spider-Man reboot(July 3rd) and The Avengers(May 4th).  That's only just the comic book competition. Don't forget JJ Abrams' Star Trek sequel is set for around that same timeframe, likely to hit in late June.

Still no confirmation of Christopher Nolan's return to direct the project. The script is currently in the hands of his younger brother, Jonathan, based on an idea from David Goyer. Goyer is also in charge of the upcoming Superman relaunch, which Christopher Nolan will be overseeing.