Most people who saw the first full trailer for The Dark Knight think Heath Ledger as The Joker is inspired casting. Well, that’s what I think and since I’m writing this article we’re going with that premise. It’s not just me that thinks Ledger has got what it takes to make people forget Jack Nicholson’s increasingly dated portrayal. Well respected Batman writers are saying the same thing to MTV.com.

The site talked to Paul Dini, writer/producer of Batman: The Animated Series, who said Ledger’s portrayal, based on the trailer, looks perfect for the movie. Dini gushed, “Heath Ledger's Joker seems perfectly suited to the dark Gotham City created by Christopher Nolan. He seems more street than any other version of the Joker, with his clownish visage recalling hastily applied graffiti paint rather than chemically dyed skin." He also thinks Ledger’s Joker is more of a killer and less of a…well…joker. "No goofy gags or puns for him. This Joker doesn't split sides ... he splits skulls." Dini says.

Dini isn’t the only Batman creative force who likes the Joker incarnation in Nolan’s dark vision. Jeph Loeb, the writer whose comic series “The Long Halloween” was cited by Nolan as an influence on his Batman series, prefers this version of The Joker to the one from the Tim Burton movies. "I was never a big Nicholson fan," Loeb said, "[Ledger] however feels just about right. I eagerly anticipate more!" To be sure, a trailer does not a movie make, but the praise of some bonafide comic nerds with cred makes those of us waiting anxiously for next July feel like we are going to see something great.