BEVERLY HILLS, California -- When we last saw crusading district attorney/ horrifically scarred psychopath Harvey "Two-Face" Dent, things weren't looking too good for the guy. His plans had failed, he'd lost his lady and he fell a distance that would kill most mortal men.

So what does [movieperson id="189096"]Aaron Eckhart[/movieperson] do now? He's a red-hot star, coming off one of the biggest movies of the decade. The folks behind the franchise keep giving cryptic clues that [url id="http://splashpage.mtv.com/2009/01/08/batman-3-update-christopher-nolan-david-goyer-talking-says-dark-knight-producer/"]there will be a third film[/url], but no one seems to even entertain the notion that Two-Face could still be alive -- a rare occurrence in a town where characters survive falls like this one, all in the name of a sequel.

While Eckhart hangs in limbo these days, should he send Christopher Nolan a "Thinking of You" bouquet? Perhaps a fruit basket with a note explaining how people survive longer falls all the time?

"Well, if I was a smarter person, I would do those things," laughed Eckhart, who is biding his time these days diversifying with the September 18 romantic flick "Love Happens" opposite Jennifer Aniston and the sci-fi action flick [url id="http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2009/03/13/battle-los-angeles-blockbuster-will-have-director-reinventing-aliens-aaron-eckhart/"]"Battle: Los Angeles,"[/url] which began principal photography Wednesday. "I'd send him flowers. I'd buy him a car."

Instead, Eckhart only has one unwavering opinion to offer about the next Batman movie: "If Chris called me, I would certainly do it."

That's where the trouble comes in. Nolan and his team have made two instant-classic comic book films by adhering to a policy of realism that has made us all believe that Batman could walk among us. And when it comes to forced twists that bring back assumed-dead characters, well, it seems unlikely that they'd want to flip Two-Face's coin over again.

"As far as I'm concerned, my character's dead," Eckhart said of his final conversations with the "Dark Knight" team as they went their separate ways. "I've sort of just gone on with my life. I don't have any expectations of being in the next 'Dark Knight,' if there is a 'Dark Knight.' I have no knowledge of one.

"I would do anything for Chris," Eckhart added of his willingness to return as Two-Face if the "Batman 3" script were to somehow figure out a way to bring him back. "If Chris wanted me to ... I don't know, bring his tea or something like that, I would do it. I had such a good time making that movie, and he's such a great filmmaker."

But, as the fans know, once upon a time, the choice was made to kill Two-Face in "The Dark Knight" and let the Joker live -- a blueprint forever complicated by the [article id="1580051"]untimely death of Oscar winner Heath Ledger[/article] after filming wrapped. Now, it seems, there are no common villains to carry over to the third flick, and Eckhart said a reboot of baddies is likely in order.

"I think ['Dark Knight'] was always Heath's movie, and Heath was definitely the motor and the vehicle that was to continue on," Eckhart said, perhaps revealing original plans to have Ledger's Joker return for the third film. "I'm not sure that it's not better just to start all over and find different characters for the [next] movie."

Check out everything we've got on "The Dark Knight."

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