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The Dark Knight: The Joker Revealed!
Heath Ledger as the Joker on the January 2008 cover of Empire Magazine
Aside from The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Sandman Mystery Theatre and Rex Mundi, I’m really not a very big comic-book fan. But I’ve got to admit I can’t wait for The Dark Knight, director Christopher Nolan’s sequel to the supremely excellent Batman Begins that’s scheduled to hit theaters in July 2008. The reason: The advent of the Joker, one of the greatest pop-culture villains since Richard III. I’m one of the few people who doesn’t really like Tim Burton’s Batman, mainly because I’ve always hated Jack Nicholson’s buffoonish turn (let the flaming begin). The Joker should inspire giddy fear, not goofy laughs (check out Allan Moore’s classic Joker story arc in The Killing Joke for what I think is the best – and scariest – take on this endlessly fascinating character). So I was thrilled to learn that Heath Ledger had been cast in the role, since he’s a good actor who, I suspect, has a dark side worth exploring. And like all things related to the Batman franchise, from the Batmobile to the Batsuit, the Joker’s costume and makeup has been kept top-secret. Until now.
For the past week, the British movie magazine Empire has been running a clever Dark Knight tie-in on their website. Each day, one of nine playing cards arranged on a grid has been flipped over to reveal a section of a large, unidentified photo under the mysterious caption “All will be revealed.... ” The card covering the face would be, presumably, the last flipped. Once the purple pants and green vest came into view, a lot of fans guessed correctly that the final image would be the first official glimpse of Ledger in full Joker regalia. Well today, a little bit ahead of the scheduled big reveal, the psycho’s out of the bag and the full photo — which will appear as the cover of Empire’s January 2008 issue — is now on view. For my money, that is one scary-looking Joker, a true homicidal nutcase straight out of Arkham Asylum instead of a Cesar Romero impersonator or a reject from an Insane Clown Posse tribute band. Whaddya think?
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Nov 28, 2007 1:45 PM
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Totally agree Ken! Although I did like Jack's turn as The Joker, Heath Ledger looks crazy cool. I loved the way they handled Scarecrow in the first movie and I'm expecting that they do an even better job with the reinvention of The Joker. This one def. ranks high on my list of must see movies of 2008.
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Nov 28, 2007 2:17 PM
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I absolutely cannot WAIT for this movie! Pure brillance, this casting. Yay Chris Nolan, yay Christian Bale, and yay Heath Ledger!!
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Nov 28, 2007 2:21 PM
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I look at that picture and first think, "Beetlejuice!"
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Nov 28, 2007 2:33 PM
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Heath as the Joker is old news.
I remember hearing that in the summer.
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Nov 28, 2007 2:55 PM
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I think Michael Keaton would have been the best Joker. It would have been awesome, and a great twist on the original, as Michael Keaton played Batman in the first two movies.
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Nov 28, 2007 2:55 PM
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Heath as the Joker is old news.
I remember hearing that in the summer.
Why are people on this site always trying to one-up the editors by declaring that they've already heard the news? Sometimes "old news" is brought out again when new events occur, such as the current magazine tie-in and full reveal of the costume and makeup.
And Ken - you're not alone in hating Jack as the Joker. He wasn't the Joker, really, he was Jack As Joker since he played him like he plays all his characters. I can't wait to see what Heath does with him.
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Nov 28, 2007 3:04 PM
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I don't care what anyone says, the original Batman with Jack was solid.
Before we sing the praises of Heath's acting in the upcoming movie, let's see what happens and check back here next summer.
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Nov 28, 2007 3:56 PM
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Uh, yeah SharonTateFan4ever- the article is referring to the reveal of what Heath Ledger looks like as the Joker. Not the fact that he was cast as the Joker. Why so mean anyway?
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Nov 28, 2007 3:56 PM
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Can. Not. Wait. He looks awesome!
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Nov 28, 2007 4:14 PM
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Ha, Matt, I knew he looked familiar; Beetlejuice is right on the money!
"...supremely excellent Batman Begins"? So wait, there are two movies called Batman Begins? I have got to see this other one that people are raving the about; the one I saw was crap. I can only assume in this other one, Batman doesn't drive a fraking tank through Gotham, doing more unnecessary property damage than either of the movie's main villains?
Well, I'm gonna go to the video store right now and find that; I can't wait, I haven't seen a good Batman...anything since they cancelled the Justice League; and even that, the last couple of season, what little he was in, didn't seem quite like Bats. Not to mention, the ears, or whatever you want to call them, on his cowl were way too long in JLU.
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Nov 28, 2007 4:22 PM
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Why are people on this site always trying to one-up the editors by declaring that they've already heard the news? Sometimes "old news" is brought out again when new events occur, such as the current magazine tie-in and full reveal of the costume and makeup.
I could not agree more. I've been talking about Heath-as-Joker with ken for months now, so his casting obviously was not presented here as "breaking news." Oy. - MWM
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Nov 28, 2007 4:46 PM
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Sheesh, people always like to nitpick, n'est pas? (The Beetlejuice crack was funny, though!)
Personally, I can't wait to see Heath Ledger's spin on the Joker!
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Nov 28, 2007 6:06 PM
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Seriously though, for my money, the best live action Joker I've seen would be Andrew Koenig in the online short, "Batman: Dead End". And that movie demonstrated that Batman could look like Batman, without looking corny.
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Nov 28, 2007 8:06 PM
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Best rendition of the Joker is still Mark Hamill from Batman the Animated Series (also Justice League and especially in "Batman Beyond - Return Of The Joker").
Time will tell how Mr. Ledger stacks up.
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Nov 28, 2007 8:49 PM
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