15 Crazy Facts You Just Have To Accept To Enjoy The Dark Knight Trilogy

9. Heath Ledger's Death Totally Screwed The Dark Knight Rises

Batman fans everywhere were left gob-smacked and distraught when Heath Ledger died of an accidental drug overdose about 6 months ahead of The Dark Knight's release, leaving a dark, creepy cloud over his Oscar-winning performance, and naturally creating a problem for Nolan when he decided to move forward with a third film. It's widely accepted that The Joker would have had a significant part in The Dark Knight had Ledger lived, not merely taking the Scarecrow judge role, because it's entirely possible that had The Joker been an option for Nolan, Bane would never have shown up in Rises and the film would've been totally different. Though Tom Hardy did a splendid job as the masked maniac, it's hard to deny that Ledger's death threw a spanner in the works for the natural plot progression of a third film. If Ledger had lived, how would Nolan have been able to resist making The Joker a large component of Rises, given how acclaimed his role was (even if he probably wouldn't have won the Oscar had he lived)? The Joker would probably end up in Arkham Asylum and soon enough escape, which frankly could have been awesome, if Nolan could have pulled it off without repeating himself too much. All that potential was squandered by Ledger's death, and though Rises still delivered a mostly excellent finale, it could have been something so much more.