10 Times Hollywood Pissed Off Fanboys (And Then Proved Them Wrong)

1. When Heath Ledger Was Announced As The New Joker

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Though it is now widely considered the best depiction not only of the Joker, but of any superhero movie villain, Heath Ledger's performance in The Dark Knight would never have happened if certain sections of the DC fandom had gotten their way. Names like Johnny Depp and Sean Penn were doing the rounds on the rumour mill early on, and the announcement that the Brokeback Mountain star had won the part took many by surprise.

DC forums went nuts when the news broke, with fanboys pointing to Ledger's early work as an example of why he was apparently wrong for the part, though director Christopher Nolan was convinced early on that he was the perfect choice.

The pair actually met to discuss the possibility of Ledger becoming Nolan's Batman, though the Australian actor told the director that he couldn't take himself seriously as a superhero.

After being impressed with Batman begins, however, Ledger contacted Nolan to talk about the part of the Joker in the sequel and, after impressing with his enthusiasm for the character and the world, he was cast before a script was even written.

They might not admit to it nowadays, but a lot of fanboys poured scorn on the decision to cast Ledger as the Clown Prince of Crime, meaning a lot of fanboys were forced to eat their own words when the film came out and met the highest of expectations.

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Phil still hasn't got round to writing a profile yet, as he has an unhealthy amount of box sets on the go.