6. Sales
It sounds like a particularly cynical thing to say, but the return of the Joker would provide a huge marketing boost for Warner Bros and would pretty much guarantee that an already massive likely box office return would be even more grand, especially considering how the public will react to the idea of replacing Heath Ledger. That alone would write some seriously impressive cheque before many other creative decisions are made, and it has to be something that Warners have already considered. And not only that, in the current market where film fans are as attracted to antagonists as they are to heroes - with villains being a bigger sell for some - the prospect of selling not only the movie, but also merchandise on the back of the Joker's inclusion will surely be head-turning enough to warrant consideration. One thing that can be learned from the Disney store's recently unveiled Villains line, it's that consumers will willingly buy into the brand of evil, and that doesn't come more strongly than with The Joker. This one is perhaps more a reason why it will happen from Warners point of view, rather than why it should happen from a fan's perspective, but money talks a lot louder than fan clamour, even when it comes to Batman.