Is this the plot of the new solo Batman film?

Ben Affleck is starring as Batman now and he'll also be directing a future solo outing for the character, here's what it could be about

The Dark Knight has been busy in recent years, with seven released features since 1989 as well as video games, animated TV series and more. And it doesn't look like he's retiring any time soon, with an appearance confirmed in 2016's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

Ben Affleck is the man currently inhabiting the batsuit and the award winning filmmaker might also be behind the camera for a standalong Batman film in the next few years. That's all still a rumour at this stage, Affleck in particular hasn't committed, and it won't be on screens for at least three years as we gear up for Justice League and more.

Still there are already rumours circulating about what shape that Batman movie could take, with very early leaks suggesting which characters might be used and more.

THERE BE SPOILERS!

Of course they might not even be spoilers, considering how long Warner Bros still has to work on these films.

Anyway, the news from JoBlo is that we could see the arrival of the character of The Red Hood, who has a complicated history with Batman. Sometimes the Joker has even been the Red Hood, or part of the gang, but the most likely use would be with Jason Todd. He was previously Robin but was killed by the Joker and came back as the latest Hood. After that he fights against the enemies of Gotham but in a much more violent way than Batman, and the two ultimately come to blows.

In the movie it's said Red Hood will be back and causing trouble for the Batman who will have to work to find out that he used to be Robin. Joker will be involved and there's also a rumour that Nightwing will be part of the overall story.

The idea of finally having an entirely new baddie in a Batman movie is very interesting and the ties to the Joker would make sense as that villain has a lot of profile in the wake of Jared Leto's turn in Suicide Squad. Naturally this could all change hugely over the next few years and we likely won't see the film in cinemas until at least 2018.

In the meantime, Batman v Superman Dawn of Justice is out in March 2016.