Next Batman movie set 8 years later - we set phasers to 'speculate'

Because Batman probably has a phaser.
Empire Online have seen fit to dribble out some snippets from their twin The Dark Knight Rises cover issue, and luckily for them we were there to wipe up their chin. Chief amongst these new gleams of info is director Chris Nolan's revelation of how much time has elapsed since the events of The Dark Knight, and - more importantly - what this means for Batman:

Interesting. With all the spy pictures showing Batman squaring off against Bane, and Catwoman straddling the batpod, I hadn't stopped to consider when exactly the new movie would fit into Nolan's take on the series. It's a smart move. Putting nearly a decade between Bats turning fugitive and the introduction of Bane opens up a wealth of storytelling possibilities.

Speaking of Tom Hardy's ridiculously muscle-bound villain:

Yeah apart from Liam Neeson and Ra's Al Ghul.

But obviously whatever event causes Batman to break his cover must be a big 'un, and with the length of time involved we think our best guess is on the right tracks. Could it be...


Your silence says it all, Mr. Nolan.