An interesting rumor has sprung forth from Comic Book Movie. According to their inside source at Warner Bros., when Christopher Nolan completes his Batman trilogy with The Dark Knight Rises, the franchise is going to move to the small screen with a weekly live action TV series that will see the return of The Joker to Gotham City.

There is no casting news as to who may take over the highly coveted and hard to replace role of The Joker, but Warner Bros. is reportedly looking at Karl Urban, or a "Karl Urban" type, to take on the weekly chores of playing Bruce Wayne/Batman.

Here is the letter received in regards to the forthcoming television series that would revolve around billionaire Bruce Wayne and his further adventures in Gotham City as The Dark Knight:

"WB has no plans to rush out another Batman Movie once Christopher Nolan has completed The Dark Knight Rises. Instead, the heads in power are looking at something to do with TV.

The idea comes from the successful TV transitions of Smallville and Sherlock Holmes --the Hartswood Films/BBC Television show of the same name starring Benedict Cumberbatch that screened recently.

So, WB is looking at putting together a live action Batman TV series. The Head Executive in charge (name removed to protect source) who has overseen the development and production of such notable hits as: "Two and a Half Men", "The Mentalist", "ER", "The West Wing", "Without a Trace" and " Friends ", has been given the task. He would like to keep it in line with the Christopher Nolan movies. No word on any stories or script, but he wants a real world feel with young adult audiences in mind.

It has also been mentioned that this is a way to re-introduce The Joker as a completely new version and not step on Heath Ledger's memory/version, as WB knows this is a sensitive subject. They believe that the Joker alone will garner ratings through the roof and are already planning on a closed set with extremely tight security to prevent any leaked footage.

The actor they have mentioned as a "type" to play Batman/Bruce Wayne is Karl Urban. Karl Urban plays Dr. McCoy in the new Star Trek franchise.

There is no official word on a Batman television series from Warner Bros. at this time, so this news should be taken as a rumor. We will be sure to let you know as soon as an official statement is made, but don't look for that until after The Dark Knight Risesis released in 2012.