… as in Private James T. “Joker” Davis from “Full Metal Jacket”.

It’s great to see Matthew Modine, who played Joker in the 1987 classic (in a role originally intended for Anthony Michael Hall from memory), get off the bench. Undeservedly so, Modine has been swimming in a knockabout current of crap for most of the noughties (though his guest turn on “Weeds” was quite fun), not one of the projects even coming close to the greatness of his earlier fare – be it “Full Metal Jacket”, “Married to the Mob”, “Birdy”, “Memphis Belle” or – don’t laugh! – “Vision Quest”, but Christopher Nolan has handed the man a stick so he can swim to shore, casting him in “The Dark Knight Rises”. Nice!

Modine, as well as veteran actor Tom Conti (remember “Reuben, Reuben”!? and “Shirley Valentine”!) and young newcomer Joey King (“Battle : Los Angeles”) were named by Variety earlier today as being the newest three recruits onboard the ‘Batman’ sequel.

King is rumoured to be playing a younger version of Talia al Ghul (Marion Cotillard) in the film. Modine is said to be playing a character named ‘Nixon’, a lawyer.

Christopher Nolan definitely has an eye for casting but also bringing back the greats (You’ll recall he used Tom Berenger in “Inception”) doesn’t he!?

Side Note : Modine shared the screen with former ‘Batman’ films villain Catwoman Michelle Pfeiffer in 1988′s “Married to the Mob” :