We all know that Warner Bros. has high hopes for "Man of Steel," especially after losing money on the last Superman reboot.

With "Marvel's The Avengers" and "Iron Man 3" both joining the billion dollar club, who could blame the studio that owns all of the DC Comics Universe characters for wanting their own post-"Harry Potter" billion dollar franchise? "Green Lantern" was a misfire, but "Man of Steel" should setup a future "Justice League" nicely. There's just one problem: they're gonna need a new Batman.

Dashing the hopes of Dark Knight fans everywhere, Christopher Nolan collaborator David Goyer says there's no room for Christian Bale (or Joseph Gordon-Levitt, for that matter) in "The Justice League," because Nolan's trilogy exists in its own universe. Sure, as folks who have already seen "Man of Steel" (SPOILER) are aware, there are some nods to other DC characters, including Bruce Wayne.

But whomever dons the cap and cowl next time around will be a completely different person.

Speaking with the UK's Hey U Guys, the screenwriter whose career in comic book adaptations kicked off with that awesome Nick Fury TV movie starring David Hasselhoff said "Man of Steel" director Zack Snyder is insistent that Bruce Wayne exists in his new movie universe, but that it's separate and distinct from the Nolan trilogy's world. He acknowledged the studio's hopes for a super team up along the lines of "The Avengers," but noted that it all depends on how this one does at the box office. While Goyer isn't officially signed on, he said that if "Man of Steel" is a huge hit, "I would be happy, and nervous, to dive in."

He also said the studio would discard old scripts and starting from scratch. "God forbid ['Man of Steel' doen't do well], things will change. I don't know how many different iterations of 'Justice League' they've tried to mount over the last decade or so. But for one reason or another, they haven't happened. I think Warner Bros. has seen — and Chris deserves the biggest credit for this — that we were able to revitalize Batman... And they're hoping that Superman will be revitalized as well. And if we can do Batman and Superman, then maybe we can move on to Wonder Woman, and the Flash and characters like that."

Box office estimates for  "Man of Steel" going into the weekend have been incredibly varied, from conservative guesses in the $75 million range all the way to almost $140 million.

Anyway, seems like as good as time as any to watch this 1998 trailer for The Hoff as Nick Fury: