Batman has more to deal with than just the Joker in this summer’s “The Dark Knight,” and now thanks to a top secret new trailer for the film that just screened at NY Comic Con, we’ve gotten our first extended look at his friend and eventual rival, Harvey “Two-Face” Dent.

The brand-new “Dark Knight” trailer was shown to a flabbergasted audience here in New York (Warner Bros. had not announced any plans to show any footage) and though we only got a chance to see it once, there’s an awful lot to chew on in this new glimpse.

- After a breathtaking shot of Batman perched high above Gotham, a voiceover from Heath Ledger’s Joker asks “Where do we begin?” Batman glides through the city.

- “Kill the Batman,” the Joker states to an adjoined meeting of mob bosses, before an explosion is shown and the subsequent showing of a Joker card. This seemingly gels with the suspicion that the Joker is controlling the mob through ransom (after robbing the mob-run bank in the IMAX preview).

- After several shots of Harvey Dent in District Attorney mode, we finally get everyone together as the Joker invades a fancy bash with Bruce Wayne (Christopher Nolan), Alfred (Michael Caine), Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) and Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal). Sadly, the scene wasn’t topped off by the Penguin crashing through the floor on a giant duck.

- “The dawn is coming” says Dent in a voiceover.

- The Joker mutters “Here we go” before walking down a city street blowing stuff up in one particularly awesome scene.

- In one of the most foreboding moments of the trailer, Dent emphatically states “You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.” Harvey Dent, of course, backwardly referencing his future transformation into super-villain “Two-Face.”

- Our eyes may have been playing tricks on us, but it certainly looked like the Joker drops Dawes at some point. The length of said drop is uncertain.

We’ll all know more when the trailer officially hits in two weeks. The clock starts now.

[Source : MTV Movies Blog]

For all our endless talk in recent months about how well new stars Aaron Eckhart and, especially, Heath Ledger would fit in with the rest of the Gotham city crowd, one thing we’ve never revisited is what we make of the original cast — so beyond reproach, in our minds, are Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, and the rest of the “Batman Begins” veterans.

But at least one of those now familiar faces was almost quite different, Oscar winner Chris Cooper revealed to MTV News, admitting that he was initially offered the role of Lt. James Gordon well before Gary Oldman took the reigns.

“I was approached about that and chose not to do it,” he matter of factly confessed.

According to the “Adaptation” star, declining the role had less to do with the character itself than it did the time he would be forced to spend away from his family on such a big-budget enterprise.

“If I’m going to choose a particular role and be away from home for months on end — whether it’s a long shoot or a short shoot, I’m going to put my energies into it — it’s something I want to be totally involved with,” he insisted. “I don’t like to work back to back — just work for work’s sake. I like to do one job, go home and recuperate and look for another piece of material once I’m ready.”

Even now that the movie has become a worldwide phenomenon, Cooper says that, looking back, he has no regrets.

“Not at all,” he insisted. “There’s any number of scripts that I passed on — some that got huge recognition — but I have no regrets.”

In our never ending game of “what if” casting, Cooper as Gordon is a doozy. What do you think he’d have made of the role? Sound off below.

[Source : MTV Movies Blog]

Last year at the Independent Spirit Awards, Aaron Eckhart spilled the beans on Harvey Dent, telling MTV News that the key to his performance was in finding “the tension…the similarities” between Batman and Two-Face. This year, he told us what he found.

“Well, they’re both crime fighters,” he said. “They both care about law and order. They both care about Gotham City. Although they come from different backgrounds, they share certain things. Pausing, he added, “[Things that] I cannot tell you about.”

Anybody who’s ever read a “Batman” comic book knows what some of those things are – admitting them would be a non-spoiler spoiler, akin to saying Harry Potter and Voldemort are both orphans. If you’re familiar at all with the source material, chances are you know this already.

So what could it be in Nolan’s universe that demands secrecy? It would have to be something specific to the movie, right? Something not in any other Batman incarnation. Something like…Assistant District Attorney Rachel Dawes?

Could it be that both men share a love for the spunky brunette?

For his part, Eckhart’s not talking.

“I can’t comment on anything. I’m sorry. You gotta ask, but literally, if I ever want to work in this town again, I cannot say anything to you,” he teased, smiling. “[Chris Nolan] is a good man, but he’s a tough man.”

One thing Eckhart would reveal, however, is that he shares a scene in the film with the Joker. While we endlessly discussed the effectiveness of Ledger’s performance after the first trailer arrived, Eckhart says there can be no debate – Ledger’s work will “blow [you] away.”

“I had a wonderful time working with Heath. I had the chance to watch him shine in this movie,” Eckhart said. “I am glad that I was able to be in the same room and watch him work.”

What do you think? Does our Rachel Dawes theory seem credible? And what of this scene with the Joker? Sound off below.

[Source : MTV Movies Blog]

If you’ve been asking yourself, “I wonder if Katie Holmes is having second thoughts about picking ‘Mad Money’ over ‘The Dark Knight,’” here’s your answer: nope. Stating that she’s “proud” of her work in the Diane Keaton/Queen Latifah heist comedy, Holmes did say that she’s “excited” to see what former boss Chris Nolan makes of the Batman sequel. Watch her chat it up below, and then click here for more of our interview.

[Source : MTV Movies Blog]

So we like to think we’re pretty on top of all your Batman and Superman movie news, like when we wrote about the billboard in “I Am Legend.” There’s nothing we’re mose psyched about than “The Dark Knight” for instance but as far as we know those long abandoned plans to make a Superman/Batman flick died around the time Chris Nolan signed on to the latter franchise.

But here’s the thing: apparently a whole lot of you are looking for “Batman Vs. Superman” news today. Our crack research team just informed me that a rather old story of ours about the two superheroes is playing like gangbusters today and I’ll be quite honest…I don’t know why. As far as we know, there’s no news to report. If anything, maybe some “Justice League” news might break but “Batman Vs. Superman”? Why aren’t you all searching for news on the “Superman” movie Kevin Smith wrote? I’m at a loss.

Anyone?

[Source : MTV Movies Blog]