Because Everyone Else Has Already Done It...

My pitch for the third Nolan Bat-flick. Unifying theme: Nature abhors a vacuum.

Think about it: after the events of The Dark Knight, Gotham's criminal underworld is in a state of chaos. Between Batman, Two-Face, and the Joker, all the major leaders are gone. But beyond that, there's no heroes for Gotham, either. Harvey Dent is dead, and Batman's a murderer.

So it's gang war time, baby!

I see it like this: a battle of "professional" criminals against the "freaks". The "professionals" are led by Oswald Cobblepott, who's made the sane, businesslike move to create the "Penguin" persona. Cobblepott isn't demented, so much as he realizes that "freaks" get the job done in Gotham, and it's in his best interest to become freak-like if he wants a piece of that pie.

The real 'freaks', remnants of the Joker's gang, are led by Harley Quinn. Quinn, despite her eccentric behavior, isn't as vapid as one might think; she's using the appearance and legacy left by the Joker to inspire terror. Her band is smaller and less-organized than the Penguin's, but still very effective because people understandably panic and flee at the sight of any criminal in clown regalia.

Quinn is actually a disciple of Johnathan Crane, who is offering her guidance from inside Arkham. She considers her crime wave part of a large-scale social experiment, and is therefore harder to predict than Kingpin, not being motivated by profit, per se.

GCPD, while dealing with this mess, is also receiving some new help from Eddie Nigma, the self-styled Riddler. Riddler is determined to be the "new" Batman, helping to predict the crimes of the new powers in Gotham. However, Nigma is actually under the employ of Cobblepott, being used to focus the police on his enemies rather than his own activities.

Batman himself is growing increasingly frustrated and angry with his crusade; not only has it cost him, personally, but it seems like there's no end in sight to it. He puts down one freak for two or three more to come out of the woodwork. It's taking a huge personal toll on him.

On top of all of this, almost no one notices a rookie GCPD cop named Dick Grayson, or the mysterious, black-and-blue clad vigilante who started operating around the time Grayson arrived in Gotham.

And, for giggles, I'd throw in Selina Kyle and Tommy Elliot in civilian identities, to plant seeds for the fourth film.