HEADS UP: THERE ARE SPOILERS FOR THE DARK KNIGHT RISES IN THIS POST. SORRY.

Normally, I really don’t like to report on rumors, only things that have a really solid backing behind them. However, this rumor is getting a lot of traction, so I figured I should at least write about it, and give my two cents.

The DC Theatrical Universe has struggled to get moving.  While the Christopher Nolan Batman films have resulted in a multi-billion dollar franchise (one which has been completely inclusive of and to itself), all other attempts at bringing the DC Comics heroes to the big screen have been poor to say the least.

2011’s Green Lantern was supposed to set things into motion for an eventual Justice League film (a’la Iron Man for the Marvel Theatrical Universe), but the movie fizzled at the box office.

Word is that Zach Snyder’s Man of Steel this coming Summer will instead be the catalyst for a 2015 Justice League movie (going head-to-head with The Avengers 2), and interestingly enough, we might already know who the new Batman will be.

According to sources reporting to HitFix.com, Warner Bros is currently negotiating with Joseph Gordon Levitt to appear in Justice League as Batman, and we may even see him in costume as a tease in Man of Steel.

What makes this even more interesting is that the rumor also says that another (non-indicated) actor from the Nolan series of Batman films is in talks to join this DC Theatrical Universe as well.

Here’s where I’m unsure - while it makes clear sense, especially given that the end sequence of The Dark Knight Rises dictates that Levitt’s John Robin Blake inherits the Batman legacy, John Blake isn’t really Batman to the majority of the public - Bruce Wayne is. Further more, those films have always operated in a bubble.

That said - there’s $1.08 Billion in box office for The Dark Knight Rises that says that the public knows John Blake as the “new” Batman, and they may accept him.  And if you’re Warner Bros, looking at a DC slate that so far is Man of Steel and Justice League, while Marvel has Iron Man 3, Captain America: Winter Solider, Thor: The Dark World, Guardians of the Galaxy, The Avengers 2 and Ant Man (not to mention Wolverine and X-Men: Days of Future Past), you want to jump on the money train as fast as possible.

Perhaps Nolan, producing Man of Steel, has given his blessing. Either way, I remain skeptical until proven otherwise.  Enjoy the chaser of salt on this one.

Man of Steel hits theaters on June 14th, 2013, with Justice League currently scheduled for 2015.

Source: HitFix.com.