Oscar for 'Dark Knight's' Heath Ledger?

NEW YORK—Heath Ledger may have passed away, but critics and his co-stars in The Dark Knight Batman movie are still raving about him.

Talk has already begun to emerge about his possible nomination for an Oscar for his role as the Joker in the latest installment of the Batman on the big screen. If won, Ledger would become only the second actor to win a posthumous Oscar.

Several newspapers gave raving reviews for Ledger's portrayal of Batman's arch-nemesis Joker. The New York Post noted, "As Ledger's final performance, this one is so off the rails that you really don't want to say goodbye."

Peter Finch was the only actor to win a posthumous Oscar in 1976 for his role in Network. Four other actors (including James Dean who was nominated twice) were nominated posthumously, but failed to win the Oscar.

Ledger died in January 2008 from a drug overdose in his apartment, shortly after he had completed work on the film.

The latest installment of the Batman genre reprises Christian Bale in his role as the Dark Knight, and a special tribute is made to Heath Ledger during the closing credits.

The Dark Knight has its world premiere in New York on July 14th, and is believed to be the darkest Batman film made yet.