So I’ll get right to the punch, it looks like the Joker and Christopher Nolan might have one more trick up their sleeve. The director responsible for very successfully rebooting the Batman franchise is considering using previously unseen footage and cutscenes of Heath Ledger as the Joker in the next installment: The Dark Knight Rises.
Among other “bombs” dropped in past weeks about the new film about how The Riddler won’t be in the movie and it’s not going to be shot in 3D (thank God!), this is probably the biggest. From “a source” being quoted over at
Paste Magazine:
“The idea is to use these fragments of cut scenes and use CGI to have The Joker appear one last time…Chris wants some continuity between movies and for the franchise to pay tribute to Heath and his portrayal of the Joker…it would only be a fleeting moment in the movie and would only be included with the full consent of Heath’s family.”
Of course we can file this squarely in the rumor bin at this point but if it is true then it’s a pretty interesting concept. Ledger posthumously won the best supporting actor Oscar for his portrayal in 2008. Is using his likeness in the next film kind of crass and only for purposes of getting butts in the seats? Well, yes and yes. I think Dark Knight Rises won’t have much trouble finding an audience so inserting Ledger into the film as a gimmick is kind of off-putting and could possibly backfire on the production at some level; even if, as Paste is reporting, the family is all good with it.
On the other hand if it is something that is integral to the plot then it’s just one more sweet morsel of goodness included in the Nolan cookie bakery. Ok, that metaphor made little sense, but what are your thoughts on Ledger being in the new movie?
