Batman fans have been waiting for quite a long time now to see the new Joker in action, and this last Friday they got their first chance. If one thing can be gleaned from the preview, it’s that Heath Ledger is definitely the right choice.

If you went to see “I am Legend” this past weekend, you either knew or did not know that “The Dark Knight” trailer would be premiering. If you knew, that was probably the main reason you shelled out $9.50 in the first place, Will Smith’s movie was more of a bonus than a main event after seeing “The Dark Knight” trailer. I know that’s why I was there.

It starts with a voiceover from the Joker and several scenes featuring the dark knight himself (Christian Bale). One is him on the new bat pod, the motorcycle equivalent to the tumbler from the first film which also makes an appearance here. There is also a very cool shot of Batman standing on top of a skyscraper watching over Gotham. Then as the Joker finishes his quick voiceover with, “?see to them, you’re just a freak? Like me!” a quick shot flashes of him standing in the street, head tilted slightly with a crooked grin. It’s one of the most maniacal things you will ever see.

Then we hear Lieutenant Gordon (Gary Oldman) describing the Joker’s attire and affects as he sits in a jail cell, “…clothing is custom, nothing in his pockets but knives and lint.” As he finishes we see a cop laying out all of the knives on a table, there are around 10.

Once again the Joker speaks, “Evening, commissioner?” and here we get the most creepy angle and shot of the Clown Prince of Crime as he looks up to the right of the camera, sucking on his lips with the make-up on his scarred face half melted.

It then cuts to another shot of the Joker, holding someone’s collar and asking in a low growl, “Why so serious!” That is the line that has been all over the viral marketing that has been done for the flick so far, and it is probably the best one in the whole trailer.

Following this introduction of the Joker are scenes featuring more bat pod, Batman, Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal), Luscious Fox (Morgan Freeman), and Alfred (Michael Caine). We also see the new bat cave, a very lit up and simple looking space comprised of concrete and glass.

The trailer finishes with more explosions and more Joker. His next short voiceover, “Let’s put a smile on that face!” ends with psychotic laughter and the screen fades to black, allowing the title to fade in with the bat symbol in the background.

In all honesty I think I had a nerd-gasm. The director, Christopher Nolan, looks to have made a better movie than the first, “Batman Begins,” in this series reboot.

The returning cast seems to be as good as before; Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, and Gary Oldman have their parts down. Maggie Gyllenhaal looks great as Rachel Dawes, a role she took over from Katie Holmes. There is nothing with or about district attorney Harvey Dent who is played by Aaron Eckhart. That is probably because they just wanted to show off their Joker and leave Harvey Dent for the next trailer. Dent will later become another Batman villain, Two-Face, something any Batman comic fan knows.

The best part about the trailer though has got to be Heath Ledger who is unrecognizable as the Joker. If I didn’t know it was him I would have a hard time figuring out who it is. He has created a very scary version of the Joker that will surely creep out everyone next summer when the film is released on July 18, 2008.

If you would like to see the trailer, you can find it at the official “The Dark Knight” site, thedarkknight.com, or you can go to atasteforthetheatrical.com.

Luke Soin can be reached at [email protected]