HANDLING THE JOKER IN BATMAN 3
Let’s face it… Heath Ledger‘s passing a couple years back was truly tragic. It ranks right up there with my wife (Editor-in-Chief) having several drinks on a night out and then passing out right before happy fun time!
Seriously though, on the heels of giving one of the greatest performances in cinematic history, it truly is a shame. However, the franchise must go on. Which leaves Christopher Nolan and his creative team with the daunting task of how to proceed with the 3quel. After all, the Joker was supposed to play a huge role in the 3rd film as well. In my opinion, there’s 3 ways to handle the situation. I present them to you here:
1. RECAST THE PART.
Chances it will happen: 0%
Recasting this role would be the dumbest thing Hollywood has done since it cast Katherine Heigl in, well, anything! Luckily for us, Nolan has recently gone on record to say this will not be happening.
2. MOVE ON.
Chances it will happen: 90%
Sadly, this is what will most likely happen. The franchise will move on and use new villains to explore the Dark Knight’s character and his journey to becoming Gotham City’s protector. It’s sort of like ignoring the “elephant wearing a tutu” in the room… but it makes sense to a certain extent.
3. AN HOMAGE.
Chances it will happen: 25%
This is what I’m hoping will happen. Just a quick scene, a shot out if you will, to pay homage to Heath Ledger and give the impression that the Joker is still very much alive in the film’s universe… even if he’s not at the center of the plot. Here’s my version of how to handle it in Batman 3:
Batman is forced, by the events of the film, to vist Arkham Asylum. While there, he walks by a cell housing the Joker. He looks through the small window and sees a silhouette of the Joker (played by an actor that’s made up to look a bit like Ledger) sitting in the shadows. His face is covered by the shadows in the corner of the cell. He sits there and glares through the darkness… watching Batman. Batman shakes his head and walks on. As he does, we hear audio of Ledger’s eerie laugh echoing down the hall behind him.
Imagine that (pic above) covered in shadows… did you just get goosebumps? I know I did!
That’s it for now, Gothamites.
Feel free to comment below. You can also sign up to get this blog via e-mail at the top of the page. And, as always, if you like this site, TELL A FRIEND!
Check back Saturday as that is when new posts go up. Have a great week and remember… as long as there’s no Robin, everything will turn out just fine!!!
THE LIST 
June 24, 2010 at 3:40 am
“Recasting this role would be the dumbest thing Hollywood has done since it cast Katherine Heigl in, well, anything! ”
I know we have spoken about this before but for the life of me I cannot work out why people have this attitude. Ledger was good but holy heck there are others who could be just as great if not better if not definitive (JGL, Vincent Cassel, Paul Bettany, Guy Pearce, Tom Hardy and so on… sorry about the spelling) and plastic surgery would fit right in. After the Joker, a man who is walking chaos, there is no escalation. As soon as you drop him and focus on people with rules then the whole endeavour is becomes safer.
If it merely about veneration then I don’t know what to say…
June 24, 2010 at 8:11 am
We have talked about this and I cannot disagree more. 🙂
I don’t think another actor could do as well in THIS universe. The distraction of Ledger being replaced would detract too much from the performance… even if it was spot or [gulp] even better.
As far as your casting choices… if they were too redo the joker, the only one I might be OK with is JGL because he looks like Ledger and is good enough of an actor to pull it off.
Not a fan of the others… Cassell is interesting. I think I’d like that in the next reboot of the franchise. Guy Pearce I’d prefer as the Riddler!
I understand and hear you on the whole surgery thing too but they wouldn’t do that in the films.
Tis a bit moot as well since they’ve said they won’t recast the role!
June 25, 2010 at 1:52 am
I’m with Kai on this one, recasting the Joker wouldn’t work. Even if the new actor did a good job the speculation of if he would be any good or not would overpower the movie. Move on!
June 25, 2010 at 1:54 am
Yep. If he mirrors Heath Ledger’s memory, he’s doing a disservice by attempting to ape the performance. If he does his own thing, he’s disrespecting Ledger’s legacy by disregarding it. It’s lose-lose, as far as I can see.
June 25, 2010 at 8:58 am
I would like to thank you 2 for saying what I was thinking much more eloquently than I ever could!
June 25, 2010 at 8:01 pm
Ledger reinvented the wheel here. Gotta disagree sir. He was what made The Dark Knight so riveting, otherwise to me, Batman Begins was a far superior flick.
June 26, 2010 at 9:47 am
Heather, I swear to God, you say things sometimes that make me wonder if we were twins seperated at birth!
June 24, 2010 at 5:25 am
I like the third idea, but I also want some Riddler action. Can’t we have both?
June 24, 2010 at 8:12 am
#3 and the Riddler… absolutely!
June 24, 2010 at 7:58 am
Nolan has already said that The Joker will not be coming back so that eliminates #1. I’d love to see an homage to the character but it has to be subtle and never actually show him.
June 24, 2010 at 8:19 am
I’d bet my house that that is what we get but I’m pulling for my #3! 🙂
June 24, 2010 at 9:34 am
Hate to sound like a repeating record, but if they do happen to have even a little segment with the Joker that doesn’t really efect teh movie all that much, Michael Shannon is the way to go. One could argue that he has already got the voice down, and he’s one of the most underrated actors in the business today.
June 24, 2010 at 12:50 pm
Dude, you sound like a broken record… haha!
Yeah, anyone who doubts his talent need only see a little film called Bug. That’s where I first came to love the guy. It was nice seeing him on AM’s weekly round-up getting some more work!
June 25, 2010 at 8:04 pm
Well…………….
I’m going with #3………….let’s pretend the Jokers back there pulling strings. We all know he is anyway, he always was. Then we won’t denote what happened in DK and can move on while still respectively paying attention to the character and keeping it alive in spirit. Maybe one day another actor can do it, but for now it is FAR too soon for all the reasons Darren said.
June 26, 2010 at 7:16 pm
“It ranks right up there with my wife (Editor-in-Chief) having several drinks on a night out and then passing out right before happy fun time!”
Wow – no one’s gonna comment on this? Been there, done that, but still a bit too much info there, Kai. 😉
You are aware that scenario 3 technically = scenario 1, yes? Bit part of no, having him in there is recasting. Anyway, I think it’ll be #3 and the Riddler as well. Makes the most sense.
June 26, 2010 at 10:55 pm
My life is an open book, Fletcher! haha!
June 29, 2010 at 11:16 am
I was just thinking about this the other day and would hope there is some sort of homage to the Joker along the lines of your suggestion. His story is left hanging so to speak, and really needs to be tied up. I can’t see them recasting at all (as already commented, it would overshadow the movie) but I really hope it isn’t ignored completely, even if it’s something as simple as a reference from Gordon about him being moved to Arkham. It would also be interesting to hear what the original concept for the third film was going to be.
June 29, 2010 at 6:43 pm
Agreed… and what you said is what we’ll probably get!
October 20, 2010 at 7:34 am
I AGREE WITH U N I THINK JIM CARRY SHOULD BE JOKER BECUS HE COULD PLAY AN OLDER PART WERE JOKERS OLDER SITTING THE SHADOW LIKE U SAID 5 OR MORE YEARS LATER TO GAVE HIM A REASON TO LOOK LIKE A LIL DIFFERENT. BUT THE SAME STYLE AS HEATH LEDGER.