My choice for the Joker if he were to be re-cast...

I've got about three minutes to type this up, and it's pointless me trying to write up a news story - so I just thought I would leave you guys with something to think about and potentially discuss. There's been much back-and-forth discussion among fanboys for two years now (yes, even before we saw The Dark Knight) over whether The Joker should return in any future Batman movies, but I have never really given any indication of where I stand on the dilemma - except to say that it's a tough one to call. Here's what I think, in a nutshell. A 3 minute nutshell at that... The Joker is smart, too clever, too one step ahead of anyone else with seemingly unlimited resources and back-up plans to be stuck inside Arkham Asylum for long. The duration of his jail time you feel is entirely up to him. So at some point, whether it's Chris Nolan's creative team or whatever, they are going to have to bring him back. And if it's in the next movie, then I truly have no problem with it - AS LONG - as the story told isn't a Joker centric story. Because there ain't no beating The Dark Knight on that front, it's gotta be a new villain, someone like The Riddler or whatever with The Joker in the background, a supporting role. I think something like Hannibal Lecter's in Silence of the Lambs would work - even if it were just prison scenes.

One thing I would quite like to see them explore if The Joker were to be re-cast would be the James Bond strategy. You know how Bond changed quite dramatically from Sean Connery to George Lazenby and all the way to Daniel Craig - each one giving a different take on 007? I think a mysterious character like The Joker would be perfect for this kind of exploration. A different actor playing the role each time, a completely different persona and performance. How about it? And how about Javier Bardem to play him? You watch the grin he has in No Country For Old Men - and he's a terrific actor, of course. Think about it.