When I got to the theater an hour and fifteen minutes early on Thursday night and faced an almost entirely packed theater, I almost turned my tired butt around and went home. But then there was the Watchmen trailer, and then the wonderful The Dark Knight. The film wiped away every bit of tiredness and had me not only in a flurry of awe, but in small cameo sightings. Batman's latest romp is not only a great and worthy film, but also an excellent smorgasbord of cameos and talent.

Over the next week, I'm going to share my five favorite cameos in the film, and there's no way I can start with anyone other than Batmanuel. When Nestor Carbonell's face popped up, my brain raced to fit the face to a memory. Soon I realized -- it was Batmanuel from The Tick ... as the Mayor of Gotham! Between the power of Batman and the machismo of Batmanuel, it's surprising that any evil dude would dare to set up shop in Gotham City. Now if only the DVD for this film has a goofy short film where both of the winged heroes save the day...

With the majority of casting out of the way, and production currently in full swing, Variety reports that Nestor Carbonell has signed on to play the mayor of Gotham in The Dark Knight. Aside from Carbonell, they've also confirmed the casting of Eric Roberts as a Mafia kingpin (which we already knew), but did not mention the name Sal Maroni even though a number of sources have indicated that Roberts will indeed play the infamous gangster. For those familiar with Carbonell (who was last seen on screen in Smokin' Aces), it's kind of comical that he would be involved with a Batman-related film. Back in 2001, Carbonell played a character called Batmanuel (picture the opposite of Batman -- I mean, dude drove around in a gold Buick) on the short-lived series The Tick. Remember that? Then again, maybe it's best if you don't.

There's no word on how big of a role Carbonell will play in the film; the mayor isn't necessarily a major character, so I wouldn't count on him appearing in too many scenes. As far as when we'll get to see some of The Dark Knight, recent rumors suggest there might be a teaser trailer playing before Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Since there's no possible way they've cut together enough footage to show us something substantial, I imagine if they do shovel out a teaser, it will be more along the lines of flashy graphics followed by some rough written-for-the-teaser dialogue. Oh, and perhaps Warner Bros. will take that opportunity to show us a pic of Joker -- I'd like that. Currently, The Dark Knight is scheduled to arrive in theaters on July 18, 2008.