Well, looks like Time Warner Inc.'s (NYSE: TWX) Warner Bros. has a new movie that is being hyped: Batman, The Dark Knight. You can watch the first trailer here. There's just one small problem -- it is the most searched movie trailer out there, but the release is not until the SUMMER of 2008.

To make matters a bit odder, there is no film preview, only a few voice-overs and a black screen video with a bat emblem crumbling and turning into light. At least there is a brief narration of Michael Caine (as Alfred), if that is the sort of thing fans are looking for. Maybe that's all the hype Warner Bros. wants to or is willing to give, as the movie is presently being filmed. CNN also has a video demo of a scene filmed in Chicago showing the old Brach's Candy factory being blown up. But other than a humdinger of a blow-up, it's hard to tell what the scene is.

As for the lineup: Christian Bale returns as Batman and Bruce Wayne, Maggie Gyllenhaal replaces Katie Holmes as Rachel (since Katie has been abducted by aliens), and Heath Ledger is playing The Joker. Hopefully, The Joker won't tell Batman, "I wish I could quit you!" This cast seems a bit odd, but since Batman Begins turned out pretty well, it's going to be hard not to give this one the benefit of the doubt.

Somewhere in the deep dark attics of Time Warner, Superman has been waiting. He's been gathering star dust, or whatever it is that superheroes gather when they lie in attics so long. Up until last year, he was stored right next to Batman -- until he, you know, Begined with the $200 million, eighth-highest-grossing movie of 2005.

It was about time Superman answered the call and swooped down to save Time Warner from its no-big-movie-having self, says Rick Munarriz for the Motley Fool. The company has no top-10 movies this year, despite big hopes with action block-wanna-be-busters V for Vendetta, Firewall, and Poseidon.

That will certainly change with Superman Returns, says Munarriz, and he doesn't even much care if the movie doesn't make back its $260 million production budget. If people love it (and they will!), "it can turn the spigot for more cost-effective sequels in the coming years. This is about more than just one film or one Halloween season with a few more trick-or-treating Superman kiddies than in years past. It's about making a statement."

I, for one, hope Superman can save Time Warner -- if only for the fun I'll have writing headlines about it. [Photo opendoorexit]