Heath Ledger and Conway Wickliffe receive special posthumous tributes at the end of the Batman sequel "The Dark Knight"

Entertainment journalists, who began getting their first look at the heavily hyped Warner Bros. release this week, stuck around for the early part of the credits to see a simple card reading "In memory of our friends Heath Ledger & Conway Wickliffe" just before the main credit crawl.

Other than that card, Ledger receives no special notice in the movie. The actor, who died on January 22 of an accidental overdose on prescription drugs, is billed third behind Christian Bale and Michael Caine, though his performance as the Joker is expected to generate Oscar buzz.

Wickliffe, a 41-year-old special effects technician, died last September while working on a stunt for the film in London.

"The Dark Knight" opens on July 18.