Director Christopher Nolan will try and rescue Batman's reputation

The film, by Warner Bros, is expected to start filming in February.

Actors expected to screen test for the blockbuster include Donnie Darko actor Jake Gyllenhaal, American Psycho's Christian Bale, Dawson Creek's Joshua Jackson and Cillian Murphy, the star of British horror film 28 Days Later.

The film, currently given the title Batman 5, is being directed by Christopher Nolan, the director behind the cult thriller Memento and the US remake of Insomnia.

The film is an attempt to bring the Batman film franchise, which began with Tim Burton's hugely successful 1989 film starring Michael Keaton, back into the limelight.

Batman vs Superman

Val Kilmer and George Clooney also donned the caped crusader costume, but the franchise has been put on hold after the critical mauling given to Clooney's Batman & Robin (1997).

The first four Batman films took more than $1bn (�641m) in movie theatres around the world.

Warner Bros had tried to kick-start the character again with a series of spin-off movies, including Batman vs Superman.

That film was nearly given the go-ahead for production, and was to have been directed by Wolfgang Petersen, the director of Das Boot and The Perfect Storm.