We’re taking it further; we’re not sitting on our arses.” Christian Bale knows he can’t take it easy. Having invigorated the long dormant flying rat franchise with Batman Begins, the pressure is building for him and Christopher Nolan to match fans’ heightened expectations with The Dark Knight. Not that Bale isn’t having fun… With Batman rebooted he’s now re-suited (a svelte, less sweaty, more mobile creation) and the committed star has been dangling from skyscrapers and brushing up on his martial arts to ensure the ante is well and truly upped.

“It’s been a great experience,” he tells Total Film. “This is my third movie with Chris and the crew and we are working fast. We’re ahead of schedule, which is pretty unheard of on big movies.”

With Batman Begins’ co-scripter David Goyer having sketched out a three-picture story arc for the refreshed franchise, Dark Knight scribbling duties have been split between Nolan and his brother Jonathan, who consulted on the first film and co-wrote The Prestige. All the key characters return, with Maggie Gyllenhaal replacing Katie Holmes as DA Rachel Dawes and Aaron Eckhart portraying comic-book staple Harvey Dent , who aficionados (or anyone who watched Batman & Robin) will know ultimately turns into the twisted Two Face (in this film or the next). But the main attraction is a villain whose “taste for theatrics” was so memorably portrayed by Jack Nicholson in Tim Burton’s Batman. The Joker is back. And it’s no laughing matter.

“It’s a much more anarchic, punk rock, almost junkie version of it,” says Bale, of Heath Ledger’s disturbing take on Batman’s deadliest foe. “He’s that kind of psycho kid that just will do anything and has absolutely no conscience and morals – I think they’ve done a real nice job with his look. It’s certainly a whole lot more dangerous; there’s a bit of Clockwork Orange there, a bit of Sid Vicious, a whole lot of great, anarchic personalities blended within The Joker.”

Ledger himself says he’ll be playing it “very sinister”, while the Nolans – now completely trusted with Warner Bros’ iconic property – have the freedom to explore even shadier areas of Batman’s psyche, as waging a vigilante war takes its toll. With Alan Moore’s excellent graphic novel Batman: The Killing Joke also informing the ethos, expect The Dark Knight to be lean and mean.