Heath Ledger To Play The Joker In Batman Sequel
Posted August 2, 2006 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
As movie roles go, it’s a hard act to follow.
But recent Oscar nominee Heath Ledger plans to try. He’s signed on to play The Joker in The Dark Knight, the sequel to last year’s smash Batman Begins.
Fans of the franchise no doubt recall Jack Nicholson’s classic take on the comic book villain in Tim Burton’s 1989 film Batman, starring Michael Keaton as the Caped Crusader. That film was also a blockbuster success, largely on the strength of Nicholson’s wacky performance, and spawned a number of sequels before fizzling out in the late 1990s.
But the series was resurrected in 2005 with Batman Begins – taking the Bruce Wayne character back to the time before he transformed into the crime fighter. British director Christopher Nolan gave the prequel a grittier feel, and Christian Bale bulked up to play the title character.
Both are back for the sequel, as are Michael Caine as Alfred Pennyworth, Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox and Gary Oldman as Lt. James Gordon.
Nolan is enthusiastic about having 27-year-old Ledger, nominated for a best actor Oscar last year for his role in Brokeback Mountain, in the coveted part.
“Our challenge in casting the Joker was to find an actor who is not just extraordinarily talented but fearless,” Nolan said in a statement issued by Warner Bros. “Watching Heath Ledger’s interpretation of this iconic character taking on Christian Bale’s Batman is going to be incredible.”
Rumour has it Ryan Phillippe may play young Harvey Dent, Gotham’s district attorney who later becomes Two-Face, and the man who bested Ledger in last year’s Oscar race, Capote star Philip Seymour Hoffman, has reportedly been offered the role of The Penguin.
The film is slated to be released in 2008.
