Although his involvement in the Batman sequel has been rumored for quite awhile now, Superhero Hype has received a spy report that seems to confirm Cillian's Murphy's participation in The Dark Knight. Of course, this all depends on how trustworthy the spy is -- but since they were present during filming and took pictures (none of which clearly featured Murphy though), I'll take their word for it. Beware of potential spoilers ahead. According to the spy, last night Christopher Nolan and his crew were shooting a scene that involved a confrontation of sorts between two gangs, one of which he (or she) called "the Scarecrow gang." Here's a snippet of the report: "Around 2:30-3ish they returned to the set and started filming two gangs fighting with each other. Then I spotted Cillian and they filmed him yelling at the gang. The sound of gunfire blasted and everyone ran for cover. They repeated this over and over again."

After a few images that clearly show two groups of people meeting for what looks like a "secret deal", the spy continues: "So after a few takes of that... they moved to the side of the van. I saw a Batman... It had to be a stunt double. And him and Scarecrow had a struggle and ended with the crow gassing Batman. Batman fell to the ground holding his face screaming." The actual pictures look to have been taken from across the street, but it appears one of the figures is wearing the Scarecrow mask. Then again, it is hard to make out since we only see him from behind. If all this is true, I like where they're going with this -- continuing the Scarecrow's storyline while a new villain (Joker) pops into the picture. It appears as if each film will seamlessly blend into the next, with two more possible villains (Two Face and Riddler) being set up while Batman rids himself of an old nemesis (Scarecrow) and a new one (Joker). Hopefully Nolan knows what he's doing and it won't seem like too much (ahem, Spider-Man 3), but my fingers are crossed as I patiently await this thing to hit theaters on July 18, 2008.

Before I begin, I'd like to state two things: First off, the following are rumors and nothing is official until we see it with our own eyes. Also, what I'm about to tell you might be deemed spoiler-ish, so if you don't want to know anything about The Dark Knight (rumor or not), then I suggest not reading this story. Are we clear? With that, Batman on Film is reporting a few interesting little nuggets via one of their top secret sources, "Miranda Fox." The most fascinating of these rumors being the possible appearance of The Scarecrow in The Dark Knight. There's no word on where, why or how he would make an appearance, but Fox notes: "The Scarecrow, played by Cillian Murphy, will be back." If this is true, then that means there's a good chance Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) will not make his Two Face transformation in this film unless he does so at the very end and they use it as a cliffhanger.

Aside from that, here are a few other scoops from Miranda Fox: "The Joker is "The Joker" throughout the film. There could be some classic Nolan "flashbacks" that vaguely hint at his origin, but there is no big "Joker origin story." As far as Joker descriptions go, it appears some Chicago extras are beginning to spill their guts: "My guy "Chicago Extra" was correct in his description of The Joker (Heath Ledger), but there is a reason that The Joker's neck isn't white, but is "flesh-colored" (and I'll leave it at that). The Joker will wear purple in the film. It may not be a literal translation from his comic book suit, but he wears purple. A "gash smile" is a better description of The Joker's grin than "cut smile." Also, Fox adds that Rachel Dawes (as played by Maggie Gyllenhaal) will have a much bigger role in the sequel.

On another front, BoT reports via a New York Post story that Eric Roberts will indeed play the gangster Sal Maroni. According to the paper, "Roberts will play Mafia kingpin Sal Maroni. Landing the role is a blockbuster coup for Roberts, who was reportedly hand-picked by director Christopher Nolan over rumored candidates James Gandolfini and Bob Hoskins." Oh, and the film is currently shooting in London. Any thoughts on all this? How do you figure Christopher Nolan will work in Scarecrow?