Heath Ledger, star of Brokeback Mountain and the forthcoming The Dark Knight has died.

According to the New York City Police Department, Heath Ledger was found dead from a drug overdose in his apartment in downtown Manhattan. Foul play is not suspected. Not much information is currently available, CNN is following the story.

Much has been said of the decision to cast Ledger as the Joker and recent clips and photos have had fans of Batman overwhelmingly excited. As this will likely be his final finished screen performance, I hope the role does the character and actor justice.

We’re also going through this on our forum, join the ongoing discussion here.

This past weekend many people got to see this new promo for the sequel to Batman Begins ahead of I Am Legend, and now everyone can see it online. Its being hosted on one of the many websites for The Dark Knight, A Taste For The Theatrical.

Not online in any official capacity is the 6 minute IMAX scene that also ran ahead of IMAX showings of I Am Legend. Bootlegs flood youtube, but don’t watch them unless you feel you have no other choice.

Empire Magazine was teasing for a few days that “He is coming” and I was looking forward to posting the final image when it was revealed. Well now the full cover to the next issue is online and we have our first proper look at the man.

This is Heath Ledger as The Joker for The Dark Knight, the highly anticipated continuation of Batman Begins.

“Nice outfit.”

Michael Caine says Heath Ledger as The Joker is “one of the scariest performances I’ve ever seen.” He said this, of course, caught off guard doing press for another movie to MTV Movies Blog.

Bold words, but Batman Begins had some bold performances as well. I’m not ashamed to admit, I freaked out a couple times during the Scarecrow/gas stuff. Christopher Nolan is a great director of suspense more than action.

Then again, Caine and other actors have been very positive about Ledger, and even if he’s great, I can’t help but suspect some studio damage control is going on.

From the man who brought you Babe: Pig In The City and Happy Feet will come the big screen debut of DC’s best and brightest: The Justice League.

Let’s forget that Miller hasn’t directed anything other than children’s movies in the past 15 years. Let forget that Warners is pushing a movie with Superman and Batman into theaters when they already have independent Superman and Batman series. Instead, let’s think of the one way this might be good: Tom Welling as Superman. He’s paid his dues, time to give him the cape. Include the Leaguers already on Smallville, set it in Smallville’s universe, and get Rosenbaum as Luthor while you’re at it. Keep Bale and Batman out of it.

Variety says the movie will begin casting and go into production soon to be completed before the Hollywood strike, planned for a 2009 release. Right around when Bryan Singer was hoping to get Man of Steel out. Ugh.

IESB has been breaking all the news on this proposed JLA movie. They’ve received word that the way a JLA movie can come to pass and not interfere with any other movie series is an all motion capture computer generated imagery animated movie. Yes, they’ll cast actors, track their movements, and assign those to CG characters.
While Ryan Reynolds and Brandon Routh have made no secret they want to be on board as The Flash and Superman, respectively, Batman star Christian Bale says he hasn’t been approached, and adds: “It’d be better if it doesn’t tread on the toes of what we’re doing, though I feel that it would be better if it comes out after Batman 3”
Couldn’t agree more, but a CG movie would certainly elevate awareness of Wonder Woman, The Flash and any other hero they might want to turn into a bigger movie. And even if its very well animated and photo-real as promised, people are more likely accept it has nothing to do with current Superman or Batman movies, and re-casting would be perfectly acceptable.
Casting begins next week, we could be hearing some definite announcements very soon.

A couple years back, Screenwriter David Goyer was getting ready to go on a movie based on the DC hero The Flash, and he made no mystery that he wasn’t Ryan Reynolds in the role. Then the movie died. Joss Whedon’s Wonder Woman isn’t happening either. Batman rolls on into the Dark Knight, and Superman is still tenatively scheduled to return again as Man Of Steel in 2009.
IESB reports that Warner Bros execs are gassed about a Justice League script they got and want to put it into production as early as next spring fro a 2009 release…

Our sources have confirmed earlier reports that the Justice League of America film will consist of at least Superman (Clark Kent), Batman (Bruce Wayne), Wonder Woman (Princess Diana), The Flash (Barry Allen), Aquaman and the Green Lantern (John Stewart) and will follow the OMAC storyline and also feature Maxwell Lord.
Within a few weeks, George Miller should be confirmed as the director and casting should commence immediately. The priority for the studio will have to be to figure out what they are doing with Superman and Batman.

I bolded that last part because its important. I don’t know if Batman or Superman as a franchise can survive with a JLA movie. I don’t know if Nolan & Goyer’s Batman would even work in this movie. And recasting Batman would be as big a mistake as keeping him and changing his character.
Fueling speculation is Ryan Reynolds dodging Flash questions. Why would he talk at all unless he was either already signed or seriously being considered for the role?

Personally I’d leave Batman and Superman out of it. If they’re so gung ho to get a League movie going, lets get Giffen and DeMatteis on it and make a Justice League Detroit or Justice League International movie.

Found on The Movie Blog, here is a handful of phots from the set of Dark Knight. Don’t think theres anything super spoilery in this set, but skip past these thumbnails if you don’t want to see a couple close-ups of The Joker.
I’m kind of shocked to see the more traditonal garb for the Joker, but that face still looks pretty creepy. The Bat suit is decided more focused on utlity and movement than it was before. I believe this thing would work in a fight and still provide enough armor to be useful.