Katie Holmes will not be reprising her role as Rachel Dawes in the upcoming "Batman" movie The Dark Knight, say official sources. This confirms months of rumors that the actress would not be involved with the sequel to 2005's megahit Batman Begins. Holmes' spokesperson told The Wall Street Journal: "Katie was offered [Dark Knight] but was unable to accept the role because of scheduling conflicts. She was in the process of negotiating for another project. In addition, when she returns to work, she would like to tackle a new character."

Variety reports that Christian Bale, Michael Caine and Gary Oldman are all returning to their roles in the franchise, although there is no word yet whether Morgan Freeman will also return. For people who have ben living in a (non-Bat) cave, Batman Begins featured Bale as a young Bruce Wayne just setting his feet on the path to becoming Batman. Caine played his ever-faithful butler, Alfred, while Oldman and Freeman played future Police Commissioner Jim Gordon and genius-turned-CEO Lucius Fox, respectively. Heath Ledger joins the cast in the upcoming film as Batman's arch-nemesis the Joker.

The Dark Knight is due to be released in July 2008.