Christopher Nolan has revealed that Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy inspired him while working on the upcoming Dark Knight Rises.

The Inception director told Entertainment Weekly that he was hesitant about making a third Batman film after the highly successful The Dark Knight.

Jim Smeal/BEI/Rex Features

"There are very few, very great third films," Nolan explained.

However the Lord of the Rings saga served as an inspiration for the filmmaker, who added: "I will cop to this: The Lord of the Rings trilogy was in the back of our minds the entire time we were making these.

"What Peter Jackson did was completely different. He had the whole story for all three films; he was physically capable of shooting it all at once. I can't imagine doing it myself. It's one of the great achievements in movies."

Nolan has ruled out any more films in his franchise, but said that he believes that Anne Hathaway's Catwoman deserves her own solo film.

The Dark Knight Rises rises is scheduled for release on July 20 in the US and the UK.

Watch the trailer for The Dark Knight Rises below:

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