There has been a good amount of effort by all types of fanboy types attempting to get a glimpse of Heath Ledger as The Joker in The Dark Knight. There has been a good bit of Photoshop fakes, grainy long shots, and viral websites. Somehow an advantageous individual was able to get a glimpse of The Joker a couple of nights ago while they were doing some night shooting. Well I Watch Stuff somehow came up with this pretty decent shot.

This is probably the best look we are going to get until The Dark Knight panel at Comic Con in a couple of weeks. I think this is a good looking Joker. From what moles on the set have said, the Joker is a wholly and entirely deranged and will set a far different tone than that of Jack Nicholson’s take on the character. I must admit that I was among the skeptics when it was announced the Ledger would be taking on the maniacal clown, but in this snapshot he is certainly looking the part. The costume and makeup still bring that same sense of realism that Christopher Nolan already has done with establishing his Gotham.

I firmly believe that Batman Begins is a pitch perfect comic book adaptation, more so than Spider-Man 2. It’s easily in my Top 10 Movies (and I’m not talking comic book genre). Christopher Nolan is totally committed to his vision of Gotham City, and again has brought together a good supporting cast for Christian Bale. The Dark Knight will be hitting theaters in Summer 2008, which is already crowded with The Incredible Hulk & Iron Man.