| Heath Ledger is scoring points as the next big-screen Joker. A preview of “The Dark Knight,” the sequel to 2005’s “Batman Begins” and the next installment in the rebirth of a once-failing Batfilm franchise, is showing on IMAX on December 14. We’ve all seen Christian Bale’s interpretation of Batman, so there’s no surprise there. What we’re waiting with Batted breath – so to speak – to see is Hollywood hottie Heath Ledger as the Crown Prince of Crime.
The sequel plans were announced almost immediately after “Batman Begins” opened. And of course, for any diehard Batfans, the question of who the villain for the next movie would be was already answered at the end of the first one. The real question was … who would play him? Ledger has some pretty big spectator shoes to fill – Jack Nicholson wowed and wooed fans big-time in the 1989 “Batman” movie, the groundbreaker that brought the Caped Crusader back out of the comics and away from the 1960s TV camp. Nicholson was perfect for the role, through and through (helped along, ironically, by his similarities in style to Cesar Romero, who handled the role so deftly in the ‘60s TV series). And some would argue that the ante was upped with the voicework of the surprising Mark Hamill in “Batman: The Animated Series” through the ‘90s.
So back to that whole Heath thing. Will he cavort? Will he preen? Will he leer and jeer with maniacal cheer? Will it be purple and orange and green -- marked in pasty white -- for Batman's off-kilter foil? The first six minutes of the film will be what’s showing on IMAX next week. And Ledger’s certainly got his buzz on: “Seeing this extraordinary face, eight stories high... you can smell his breath,” director Christopher Nolan said. The (whole) movie is scheduled for theaters on July 18.
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