Riddled with rumors

Just in time for 'The Dark Knight' buzz to die down, rumors about the next installment's villains are starting to look a little more substantiated.

In an interview with MTV News, Michael Caine (Alfred in the movies) seemingly confirmed Johnny Depp as The Riddler and Philip Seymour Hoffman as The Penguin.

"I was with [a Warner Bros.] executive and I said, 'Are we going to make another one?' and They said, 'Yeah.' I said, 'How the hell are we going to top Heath?' And he says, 'I'll tell you how you top Heath -- Johnny Depp as The Riddler and Philip Seymour Hoffman as The Penguin.' I said, 'S--t, they've done it again!" - Michael Caine.

Now, I'm pretty sure Nolan hasn't officially signed on for the project and Christian Bale has already said he won't do a third movie without him... so something tells me not to get too pumped about the next Batman flick just yet.

[UPDATE] Apparently the rumors are just that: Debunked! Actor Philip Seymour Hoffman told MTV that he's not going to play Oswald Cobblepot. "No one has talked to me about it ever -- never," Hoffman said. "It happened, like, five years ago, too. It was a rumor back then and it's still a rumor. [laughs] It's just in the press. It's funny. I think I'm more interested in seeing someone else do it. I don't know if I'd be a good Penguin to be quite honest." From comicbookresources.com (thanks, Geoff!)

Hoffman is uber versatile, so he'd probably be a good choice. I'm pretty excited to see some freaky ass penguins, too. But Johnny Depp in makeup acting looney? That's not challenging at all. Been there, done that. There's no way he's going to top Heath. My vote's for Leo!