After so much debate whether to continue the 'Batman' franchise with another installment with Christian Bale, Warner Bros. decided that he made such a perfect superhero that the opportunity could not be passed.

Thus, talks about the sequel for 'Batman Begins' began and the heated debate revolved now not around Christian's ability to portray again that goody-goody superhero, but around who was going to take on the villain part. Finally, after many discussions and negotiations, the studio went for Oscar-nominated Heath Ledger as the perfect Joker.

'Our challenge in casting The Joker was to find an actor who is not just extraordinarily talented but fearless. Watching Heath Ledger's interpretation of this iconic character taking on Christian Bale's Batman is going to be incredible', director Christopher Nolan said in the studio's statement that announced the casting of Ledger for the baddie part.

The cast was finally completed and the production underway. The last thing to check on the list of 'to do' for the studio was that of announcing a release date, accomplished today. Warner Bros set the premiere for 'The Dark Knight' for July 18, 2008. That's almost a year's distance and some fans do complain that it's too long...

The studio also confirmed once again the complete cast for 'The Dark Knight': Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Gary Oldman and Michael Caine. Surprisingly enough, there wasn't even the slightest mention about Batman's last girl, Katie Holmes.