Highly acclaimed director Christopher Nolan has finally given his take on what lies ahead following his last Batman film, "The Dark Knight Rises."  Unfortunately for the millions of Batman fans, most will probably not like to hear what the filmmaker has to say.

Nolan stated that he thinks that the popular movie's final scenes in "Dark Knight Rises" are without a doubt the end of the Batman story as he saw it.  To top it off, the talented Brit went on to say that the Batman persona is more or less a symbol more than a single man.

According to Film Comment, Nolan stated the following in regards to his future with the unprecedented franchise:

"For me, The Dark Knight Rises is specifically and definitely the end of the Batman story as I wanted to tell it," he said.

"The open-ended nature of the film is simply a very important thematic idea that we wanted to get into the movie, which is that Batman is a symbol.  He can be anybody, and that was very important to us," Nolan added.

The director's less than ideal words aside, the final sequence of the latest Batman installment seemed to indicate that policeman John Blake (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) may take over as the hero, as he revealed he had also been known as "Robin," and he concluded the film by showing him enter the abandoned Batcave of Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale).

To add to the buzz, rumors had been swirling earlier this week that Gordon-Levitt may indeed be on board as the next Batman in the "Justice League" movie.  However, the respective speculation has since been denied by the actor's camp.

While the director's comments won't come as desirable news for a majority of the franchise's loyals, he did acknowledge them while giving his take to Digital Spy on why he felt it was appropriate.

"Not every Batman fan will necessarily agree with that interpretation of the philosophy of the character.  But for me it all comes back to the scene between Bruce Wayne and Alfred in the private jet in Batman Begins."

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