Aaron Eckhart to play the president in Fuqua thriller

The Dark Knight star Aaron Eckhart has joined the list of movie presidents after signing on to play the leader in Antoine Fuqua's new White House action thriller Olympus Has Fallen.

The movie star will join Gerard Butler in the film, which follows the exploits of a retired Secret Service agent charged with keeping the president safe during a terrorist attack on his home.

Ironically, the casting news comes just hours after director Robert Rodriguez announced Charlie Sheen would be making a return to the big screen as the leader in his Machete sequel, Machete Kills.

Jamie Foxx is also slated to play the leader of the western world in Roland Emmerich's White House Down, opposite Channing Tatum and Maggie Gyllenhaal.