I’ve just got my hands on that Chris Nolan centric Empire Magazine (which we’ve now managed to plug three times in a few hours!!) and boy is there a big piece of blockbuster news scoop-age in there that has been missed by many.
When asked on whether Nolan would re-cast The Joker for Batman 3, he ‘emphatically and without hesitation’ answers “NO!”.
So that’s it, all the two year speculation on the ethics behind a potential re-casting of the late Heath Ledger in his Oscar winning, iconic role can be put to bed. THE JOKER WON’T APPEAR IN BATMAN 3. Presumably we have to imagine him for the time being as a mental patient locked up in Arkham Asylum.
Transcript is after the jump;
From the latest issue of Empire magazine;
There is the ever-lurking question about villains: who will The Dark Knight tussle with this time… Could it possibly be a returning (and recast) Joker, pulling strings from Arkham, Lecter-style, Empire wonders?
“No”, says Nolan emphatically and unhesitatingly. He resists elaborating simply because, quite understandably, he says, “I just don’t feel comfortable talking about it”.
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28 Comments
How much of the magazine is dedicated to Nolan and Inception?
A shame. Someone like Joseph Gordon Levitt could have played the role really well. And I don’t see how that’s disrespectful to Heath Ledger. I always wanted The Joker to return. Not as the main villain, but a nod or a cameo at least. A shame that we’ll never see the TRUE vision of the series if tragedy had not struck.
“A shame that we’ll never see the TRUE vision of the series if tragedy had not struck.”
Dumbest comment ever. Polarboy – people like you live in a world where you will never be satisfied with anything.
If it’s on the screen it’s a true vision at that moment. Your definition of true vision can never be attained – because anything that won’t meet your deluded anticipation will obviously not be the directors true vision.
@ cb
Wow, okay. Thanks for the insight, really. Looks like someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. Plus, you don’t even know me, if not you’d know that The Dark Knight is #2 on my personal list of favorite movies of all-time next to LOTR. I mean seriously, what happened to you? Boss say your PowerPoint presentation wasn’t good enough…so you suddenly hate everyone who has an opinion now? It’s obvious The Joker was meant to play a crucial role in Batman 3. It’s foreshadowed a dozen times in TDK. So whatever Batman 3 turns out to be will undoubtedly be a masterpiece, but it won’t be the ORIGINAL imagining of the series. It won’t be what Chris and his brother had in mind BEFORE tragedy took place. All I’m saying is, The Joker changed the landscape of Gotham’s lifestyle in TDK…it would only be logical to at least mention / nod / reference the guy who created this chaos in the first place, in some shape or form. And in MY opinion, Joseph Gordon Levitt could do an awesome job as The Joker IF given the chance, no disrespect to Heath whatsoever. How cool would it be if Batman were to seek The Joker’s help in Arkham (reluctantly, sort of like a Hannibal thing) in order to figure out the psychotic mind of The Riddler / some other madman? The chemistry would be amazing. Will we see that? Maybe not. Why? Tragedy struck. Get my point now?
CB – that was a silly, emotional, idiotic response to a legitimate concern. Seriously, did your girlfriend break with you that day and you were just grumpy? What a jerk.
Polar Boy – I couldn’t agree with you more. I’m sure that Batman 3 is going to rock big time, but Nolan even says he was planning on having the Joker be a big part of Batman 3. So it is too bad we will not see what Nolan originally had in store for us since he is saying the Joker won’t be in Batman 3. However, I will say this: Nolan is a sneaky SOB. He has always been clever when it comes to not spoiling the surprise and publicizing too much. This combined with the fact that I want the Joker to be in Batman 3 (no disrespect to Heath whatever, I absolutely praise his performance) makes me think that until Nolan says the words “THE JOKER WILL NOT MAKE AN APPEARANCE WHATSOEVER IN BATMAN 3″, I still hold out hope that he may be in it. I know it’s a stretch, but his words “No, I just don’t feel comfortable talking about it” could be interpreted as “Let me stop you there Mr. Interviewer, I just don’t feel comfortable talking about this topic”. I don’t know because I wasn’t there, but the situation and tone and attitude means everything in this case, and that can’t be determined without hearing him say this. I repeat, I know this is a stretch, but Nolan is truly clever enough to pull this off if he wanted to, he is a master of deflection. I also hold out hope that this is the case because the Joker is truly one of the most, if not the most, important character in the Batman universe, and it is difficult to imagine him not in Batman 3 when we have already seen him in TDK and he is still alive at the end of it. Lastly, I hold out hope that what I’m interpreting is true because there could be the possibility that they use older footage of Heath or use CGI to create the Heath version of the Joker and put the Joker in the movie that way. In this case, they haven’t “recast” the Joker, but he still makes an appearance. It is a long shot, but there are many ways Nolan could deflect this question and then surprise us in the end. So unless he says himself that the Joker will 100% not be in Batman 3, I believe there is still hope.
“legitimate concern”
Its a freakin movie for christ sake. Get out of mom and dads basement – both of you.
It’s very obvious that Nolan is still not over the death of Ledger and quite frankly I think he still holds himself responsible in some way for what happened. And while, yes his death may have been tragic and thrown a wrench into the gears somewhat if there was more there, its not like they were filming the movie when he died and they had to rewrite something. They hadn’t even began the brainstorming stage for Batman 3 yet, so to say that his death drastically changed something that hadn’t been created yet is giving his death more power than it actually had. Batman 3 wasn’t even on Nolan’s mind when Ledger passed away.
@ Gunner – Couldn’t have said it better myself.
@ KC – Technically, Nolan’s mind was 100% focused on TDK at the time of filming. But any filmmaker, no matter how focused, has a bigger picture in mind. Maybe there was no brainstorming, no conceptual imagining, but I’m sure they had a rough idea of what was going to happen. I think it’s safe to say The Joker would have appeared way less in Batman 3, BUT his role would have definitely been influential.
@ cb – I stopped having silly online arguments years ago because I figured it was lame, but you really tempt me, fella. First you’re all defensive of the movie and giving me insight to who I am as a person, and then when you have nothing solid to say you go “Its a freakin movie for christ sake.” Dude, if everything’s just a freakin’ movie why the hell are you even here? The site’s called Obsessed With Film. And why do people with a genuine passion for film have to live in their parents’ basements? You’re a judgmental one, really…thinking just because it’s Batman we’re all geeks for being here. Open up a lil, bud. It’s no longer the dark ages. Stop judging.
Hey guys,, hello to all,,There is simply ALOT Nolan can do. He can get pretty freaky with small simple holes from T.D.K….for example, heres a thought….A Flash back!!!! as in,, More of the conversation with the joker talking to 2face. In T.D.K the Joker grabs his hand with a kind of “shake of unity” the next thing we see is Joker sanitizing his hands.. what was said during the break is unknown, and could be played with… The same thing could also happen with the in and out cuts between the conversation with the both captured Rachel Doss & Harvey Dent..Both could set in motion a foundation for the third… Who knows????? Nolan did say that he is scared with the whole part 3′s in trilogy’s… We as critical lovers of movies, Do expect to be thrilled!!! So many trilogy’s have attempted for glory,, very VERY few have achieved it. Which I assume you all can agree,,,I do know this,, Nolan is in fact wanting to hit a HOmer on this issue. The question is can he??? But there ARE Holes he CAN build from!!!!Here’s another,,,Batman jumps on the Bat-pod and rides away,, Cops move in to assist Gorden and his family..all of a sudden,, 2 face “comes to” and secretly moves him to Arkham.. Like I said “Who knows!!” Also remember,,There are holes he can work off of.. What will HE Do!!!!!!!! If you wish to debate my comment, PLEASE write me at h2ohavasuguy.com I would like to hear your thoughts…………
@polarboy
Not going to argue with your idea that the Joker was probably going to return or anything like that, but your earlier post made it appear as though you felt that the character himself would be vital to the film. I really don’t think Nolan would hamstring himself like that and require one certain character, other than Batman of course, to be in the film.
@darkfan666: I don’t think Two-Face will have anything to do with the third Batman movie, since the final scene of The Dark Knight (and I refuse to abbreviate) included Harvey Dent’s funeral.
@ Jerry – I think there’s a very good chance Two-Face may still be alive in Arkham somewhere. It’s funny because Aaron Eckhart has been sneaky and elusive about the subject, claiming the character is dead as a doorknob in one interview then saying otherwise in another. Twists and turns could happen, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw Harvey again in Batman 3. Of course in Nolan’s world, his face wouldn’t still be an open wound. It would be patched-up, but scars would be visible nonetheless.
Christopher Nolan’s Batman films – while clearly fantasy – are impressive because the scripts are based on logic and making the unbelievable seem very much believable. All of Batman’s technology is explained carefully and the motivations and psychologies of the characters rendered lucid in the screenplay. Therefore, I don’t think TWO-FACE will ever come back as he is dead. But, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Joker does come back. I think Leonardo DiCaprio could do an excellent job.
If he doesn’t then I’d expect he’ll have a equally brilliant villain(s) in place. BATMAN BEGINS and THE DARK KNIGHT really raised the bar for comic book adaptations and I imagine BATMAN 3 will be a worthy finale to the trilogy. I doubt he’ll make a fourth film.
@Polarboy Not to get consumed into these online agruements, but I find it hard to believe that The Joker was going to play a vital role in Batman 3. If memory serves me correct, Mr. Nolan didn’t even want to do a third batman movie, so how can we say that The Joker was going to play a huge role, if their wasn’t even a new movie for him to play a role in.
Now to the notion that of a recast of The Joker, THAT’S COMPLETELY CRAP!!!!!!!! There’s only two people that played the role of The Joker the best, one has sadly past away, and the other(Jack Nicholson) is too old. Those two actors are the only people I think can, has, and only can paly that role perfect, whether it be a comical, sadistic, joker or an anarchy, manical, show people their true characters joker. There’s maybe one other actor I would even considered playing tThe Joker and that’s Johnny Depp, but I’m sure he’ll have a part in Batman 3 as The Riddler, I HOPE!
I would so love to pitch ideas with Mr. Nolan, but I have concluded that the more one tries to communicate with him or the studio, the more one is ignored. All of these comments (including my own)will likely be ignored. Oh, they’re reading them (someone at Warner’s is, I am sure of that)but they will ignore all of them. I challenge Nolan, or WB to prove me wrong.
How will harley quinn do without the joker in batman 3…?..you should put a sadistic mime in the movie to replace the joker..that would be a good idea!..think about it..and I have lots of good ideas brilliant!.
They could simply used Joker’s on and off Red Hood getup… which would muffle/ change his voice as well as hide his face.
They could have disembodied laughter… hell, this is Gotham… how sweet would it be to have a villain pull a batman to the extreme and never appear clearly on screen.
Joker has also had long stints where he was behind bars or off somewhere calling the shots with thugs doing the heavy lifting.
CGI/ practical/ stunt double him ala Lee in The Crow robbing a chemical plant possibly even as red hood… and then have him come put of the soup as a different actor. That’s been the classic way to change the design/ persona or a character like the joker… he steals something, something happens to him in the process, and he wakes up different.. true of alot of batman villians actually.
I think that is a brilliant idea, It would add an air of mystery, and it ties into what ledger’s version of the joker did in the dark knight with the under the table deals with the mob,and gordon’s icu employees, and the whole arrest plan when dent and rachel are tied to the oil drums by thugs, and with the laughter it would capture the joker’s insane persona without an appearance, and the chemical plant stays true to the comics it’s not some far-fetched ridiculous hollywood add in to have some sort of joker presence, and having someone try to mesure up to ledger’s ingenious and failing miserably.
In my opinion Joseph Gordon Levitt should play the riddler, and Leanardo DiCaprio should be two-face. Jim Carrey who was once the riddler did a fantastic job and the only reason I wouldn’t choose Johnny Depp is because we see him way to much now and he always plays the same type of crazy deranged person and it gets boring and repetative. Don’t get me wrong I love Johnny Depp but this isn’t the right movie for him. Tommy Lee Jones did a great job and the only person I can think to replace him is Leanardo DiCaprio.
Erm… Aaron Eckhart was Two-Face and he perished in the last movie. So no chance DiCaprio could play him I’m afraid.
they should have the villian ass ramming anal gangster in the next batman movie, that would be something. just imagine it.
miguel, you’re an idiot
I agree with polarboy that almost certainly the original vision for Batman 3 involved the Joker’s involvement to some degree. Do I think Nolan will find a sneaky way to include the Joker anyway? Probably not. I hope the events of TDK are at least referenced though.
One thing that always strikes me as funny – people frequently mention how the Joker ‘changed Gotham forever’ so ‘how can he not be mentioned’. I agree, but didn’t Ra’s al Ghul and Scarecrow do the same thing? I mean, they drove hundreds of people mad with fear and caused a mass riot/panic, and almost caused the city to tear itseklf apart. You would think that would leave just as lasting an impression on the people of Gothan as the Joker did.
One possible explaination is that the truth of just how close Ra’s came to succeeding in destroying Gotham was never made public, but it seems unlikely that the press and police wouldn’t uncover the truth.
Just my 2 cents.
u cnt put another joker in, theres no1 esle to play him and if there was they wudnt b a patch on heaths
Oh man… We will never know my true vision cause cb never came back to argue… Sigh…
Oh and back to the movie… Yeah it’s a shame The Joker won’t come back… He’s my all-time favorite villain!
PLEASE everyone, if you haven’t watched the 2007 movie “Sleuth” then do so!
Jude Law plays the perfect role of a psychopath, and he has that Ledger-esque look too (exactly the reason why he was cast to fill Ledger’s role in The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus.
While the Joker may never return I do think that Jude could pull off a truly diabolical Joker.
While being respectful to Heath, it should be easy to cast someone for a prospective Joker role as the character always wears make-up. All the actor would need to do attempt to copy the voice.
Btw Johnny Depp is a huge mistake for the Joker. He is now fixed to his own filmic persona, every film since Pirates all I see I Captain Jack Sparrow impersonations. It’s definitely the voice, and and don’t think Depp could pull Heath’s Joker off without it sounding like a Sparrow cameo.
My two cents anyway.
Oh and just to update everyone, the Riddler has been officially confirmed as NOT the villain in The Dark Knight Rises.
As for Harvey Dent/Twoface. I think the Harvey Dent’s funeral was a metaphor, that he had died but TwoFace still lives. Thus the TwoFace persona has completely consumed what was left of Harvey Dent. I wouldn’t be surprised if TwoFace returned.
Personally – and this is something that only occured to me vaguely after watching the movie – I would have loved to see Harley Quinn get some air time. A darker Harley Quinn who can provide a bit of a back story for the Joker (her personal experiences of him etc.) It would be a good way for Nolan to expand his idea of the Joker without having to recast the character.
It would also give Harley Quinn – a bit overlooked and underdeveloped in other Batman comics – room to grow as a character. If memory serves, she was originally intended as a supervillian in her own right, but sort of became this lovesick puppy with regards to the Joker.
It’s just an idea, really.
Why do people feel the need to say things like, “with all due respect to Heath,” or , “without disrespecting Heath’s legacy?”
The Joker character probably existed before Heath’s parents were even born. The joker character does not belong to Heath, even in Nolan’s Gotham City.
I absolutely LOVED his performance in The Dark Knight, and never in a million years would i have guessed he would play it so well (and dont pretend that you guys thought Ledger would be a good Joker before you saw the movie). But as well as he played The Joker, his DRUG OVERDOSE should not stop millions of fans from seeing Batman 3 the way Nolan would’ve done it if Ledger didnt die. Now, none of us know how much The Joker would’ve been involved in Batman 3, but i think it is VERY farfetched to think that he wouldnt be in the movie at all.
Im sure it would be nearly impossible to follow a performance like that, but the quality of the movie would not be dependent on someone blowing the audience away with their portrayal of the Joker. But The Joker is such an important part of the story that i dont think the 3 Nolan Batman movies would have any real continuity if The Joker isnt atleast slightly involved.
Batman Begins was all about destroying the campy version of Batman/Gotham that we saw in the 90′s. It was about creating a more realistic version that can be taken seriously.
The Dark Knight was about using the new batman universe to create a darker story that will shock, excite, and entertain the viewer.
Why should Batman 3 be spent running away from the story that has been put together? If there is no joker then it means Batman 3 will abandon pretty much all plotlines that have been introduced so far, except for Batman being on the run. Two-face? Dead. The Joker? Dead or atleast completely absent.
Not having The Joker would make Batman 3 seem more like Spiderman 3, just throwing some new villains out there and hoping something sticks.
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE HAVE THE JOKER