Now that Heath Ledger's won a stack of awards posthumously and The Dark Knight is raking in big at the box office despite being available on DVD for over a month, executive producer Michael Uslan (who's just as responsible for Christopher Nolan's stab at the franchise as he is Tim Burton's or Joel Schumacher's) has quietly confirmed that a 2011 release date has been penciled in for the next Batman feature. Not confirmed: the cast or Nolan's involvement.

Even with eight Oscar nominations underneath its cape, all anyone can talk about today is the Dark Knight Oscar snub. Well boo hoo! Chris Nolan and friends created a cinematic touchstone that made more money in its first five days than all five Best Picture nominees put together. It was a unanimous hit with critics (except for David Edelstein) and forged a lasting legacy for Heath Ledger. Do the filmmakers really need a pat on the back from the Academy (their "peers?") to remind them of their unprecedented achievement? Apparently, they do.

I did it! I found the quintessential image of 2008! In a search that's taken me through the eternal galleries of Flickr to the back back ends of Google images, it took a visit to the movie blog /Film for me to come across a perfect mashup of the two most iconic figureheads of the year -- and who are opposite sides of the same coin. T-shirt designer James Lillis took Shepard Fairey's iconic Obama image (see his post-election version here) and defaced it with the equally iconic visage of Heath Ledger's Joker to make "The Audacity of Joke." Another addition to the gaggle of Joker threads, and the perfect symbol for a year where everything seemed to go horribly wrong, and yet somehow ended up, well, decent. Click through for larger version of the design.

Heath Ledger's ghoulish Joker makeup gave me the heebie jeebies. But he looks like a squeezable birthday clown compared to this grisly concept art. Some of these images, found in The Art of The Dark Knight, were created before Ledger was cast -- back when names like Crispin Glover, Lachy Hulme, and Paul Bettany were bandied about. Ledger's knife-wielding clown was a frightening cat, but this joker would have sported a chainsaw.

With another $75 million at the box office (biggest second weekend ever beeotches!), The Dark Knight is something of a phenomenon. And with Heath Ledger’s rendering of the Joker now entering icon territory, I’d like to see those hollow eyes and carved smile replace Che Guevera as the symbol of manufactured revolucion. /Film has assembled a large collection of Joker T-shirts, each available for purchase online, with designs ranging from punk-rock nostalgia to copies of the film’s posters. Apologies to John Wayne Gacy, whose run as coolest murdering clown is officially over.

So yes, The Dark Knight premiered last night in New York, with the appropriate level of somberly dressed stardom in attendance. Giorgio Armani may be dressing Bruce Wayne, but starlets Blake Lively, Lauren Conrad, and Maggie Gyllenhaal chose to walk the black carpet in ... well, lots of black. But it's fun black! Not like scary black, or depressing black. But still totally, you know, respectful of Heath Ledger's genius and stuff.

It was bound to happen. The Dark Knight has garnered its first negative review and it comes from New York Magazine critic David Edelstein. The film was sporting a 100% fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes until Edelstein came along and spoiled the party. He called Heath Ledger's performance, which has earned unanimous raves, "painful to watch," and wrote that "scarier than what the Joker does to anyone onscreen is what Ledger must have been doing to himself." As for the film's script, it's as if it was written by "Oxford philosophy majors trying to tone up a piece of American pop." And speaking of Oxford philosophy majors, it seems as though one of them eloquently responded to Edelstein's review in the comments section.

As the frenzy towards the July 14 New York City premiere of The Dark Knight continues to build (oh how I wish I could attend), Heath Ledger’s performance, and its posthumous status, are predictably overshadowing the film itself (although reviews have been rave). Will the premier proceedings pay tribute to the late actor, will his ex-fiancée Michelle Williams attend, and what of Ledger's family's attendance? For the record, Williams was never planning to attend, the premiere will not serve as a tribute, and Ledger's family aren't confirmed as guests. Williams’ rep says that the premiere "was never on her calendar and she’s not in the movie. This isn’t a press event for her. She’s not going, there is no reason.” Jake Gyllenhaal, however, will attend his former onscreen lover’s premiere as a guest of sister Maggie, who has a role in the film as Bruce Wayne’s love interest.

The first review of the highly anticipated movie The Dark Knight has showed up online over at RollingStone.com, and Peter Travers, their resident film guru, flips his shit. In his trademark hard-boiled style, Travers warns us that a “a thunderbolt is about to rip into the blanket of bland we call summer movies.” As for Heath Ledger’s final complete performance as the Joker, he calls the actor “mad-crazy-blazing brilliant,” and refers to his version of the Clown Prince as “all rampaging id.” Calls for a posthumous Oscar ensue, and Ledger’s status should grow to near mythical.

Who knew the ripple effects of Heath Ledger’s untimely death would make it all the way to the Toys "R" Us in Times Square? According to the New York Post, action figures modeled after Ledger’s Joker character in the upcoming Batman sequel The Dark Knight, have sold out. The dolls, which retail for $9.99, are going for as much as $60 on eBay. One of the dolls, an anime-inflected design for the kiddies, shares no discernible likeness with Ledger whatsoever, save for the shaggy locks. But no matter—his accidental death has launched him to icon-status. Mix that with the Joker’s canonical slot in pop culture mythology, and you’ve just made yourself a collector’s item.