In this undated file image released by Warner Bros., Christian Bale is shown as Batman in a scene from “The Dark Knight.” -AP Photo

LOS ANGELES: The next Batman sequel has a title: ''The Dark Knight Rises.'' Distributor Warner Bros. confirmed the name for director Christopher Nolan's third adventure about the DC Comics vigilante hero, which follows ''Batman Begins'' in 2005 and ''The Dark Knight'' in 2008.

''The Dark Knight Rises'' is due in theaters July 20, 2012. Bucking Hollywood's current wave of 3-D movies, Nolan is not planning to shoot the film in 3-D.

Warner Bros. had agreed with Nolan's argument that the sequel should resist the 3-D craze, the director told the Los Angeles Times' Hero Complex blog, which first reported the title.

Nolan would not reveal what villain might appear in ''The Dark Knight Rises,'' but he said it would not be the Riddler, one of the key bad guys in the comics and past film and TV Batman tales.

Earlier this year, Nolan said he would not resurrect the Joker, the cackling villain played by Heath Ledger in ''The Dark Knight.'' Ledger won the supporting-actor Academy Award for the role, a year after he died of an accidental overdose of prescription drugs. -AP