94 Days and counting...

Til The Dark Knight comes out and it's been a long time since I've been looking forward to a movie like this. I think a lot of it has to do with the Viral Marketing that's being done with the movie, helping draw more and more fans into it. I know that this isn't the first time something has used this avenue to market their product, but it is the first time that I have gotten involved in it and I couldn't be happier.

When I saw Batman Begins, I wasn't as impressed with it as much as I am now. I thought that it was a bit slow moving and it had a tough time keeping my interest. Don't get me wrong, I liked that it created a back story for Batman and thought that Christian Bale was great in it, but
at first, it just didn't wow me. That's change over the past few times and I've grown more to love it now instead of just like it. I like that Christopher Nolan has created a world in which someone like Batman can actually exist. I like that instead of the villains just being comical people like Mr. Freeze, Poison Ivy or any other number of villains in the Batman world, I love that they also can exist. A Psychiatrist that turns normal people crazy? A monk who wants people to respect the gifts that have been given to them? What about these characters couldn't be true? I think that Nolan has a clear cut vision of what he wants in his Batman world and I for one welcome him to be able to tell his story.

But, at the sane time, I think that Heath Ledger's tragic death brings a bit of sadness to that world. Something tells me that the world that Nolan envisioned wasn't a one-shot deal for the Joker. In the Batman comics, he's The Dark Knight's arch-rival, the man always getting under his skin. I can't believe that like Tim Burton before him, he would take him out after just one movie. But what do you do? Do you get someone to replace him if he's supposed to be in the 3rd film? Do you leave him out of a possible 3rd film and just pretend that he's locked away? Of course as of right now no one knows how this film ends for the Joker. No one knows if he's locked up or dead. But if he is locked up or still loose, can you possibly have him back for a third film? And who do you replace him with?

Everyone expects Nolan and Bale to be back for a third film and the film will be based around Two-Face as the villain, which I'm ok with. But the problem with Two-Face by himself is that he's a lot like Batman, except with more killing. Two-Face, or at least from how I imagine him in this world, is more along the lines of a vigilante, seeking justice for being scarred and trying to rid Gotham City of the other criminals, but without using the legal means. He would much rather kill them instead of making sure they are locked up. Don't you need another villain to keep the interest of Batman too? Just by itself Two-Face seems to be a villain that needs to have someone else to help steer him more towards the dark side of his personality. Was it intended to be the Joker who does this? Or has Nolan always had another villain in mind? Maybe the Riddler? But wouldn't having the Riddler and Two-Face in the same movie again make people cringe,
bringing back memories of the awful Joel Schumacher direct Batman Forever? For people following the virals at home, we do know that Arkum Asylum is quite possibly in the movie, so maybe the Joker will be locked up at the end of this movie and may yet see him in later installments. I just hope that if they do, they find the right guy to come close to matching the amazing performance that I have no doubt that Mr. Ledger brought to this movie much like all of his others.

So What Does This Mean For The Dark Knight?

I didn't want to include this in the last post about Heath Ledger. While I think it is important, I feel it's better left for later. Not that a couple of hours is significantly later, but I mean a different post.

So, what happens with The Dark Knight? While I don't expect Christopher Nolan or Christian Bale to comment anytime soon regarding this as people in the media would think they are only thinking about the Box Office dollars, but it is something of an important question.

Now, we all know that roles can be recast and in fact they already have in this current incarnation of the Batman franchise. With Maggie Gyllenhaal replacing Katie Holmes as Rachel Dawes, we know that Nolan is afraid replace someone. But let's be honest. That character is small compared to The Joker in the Batman universe. The Joker is the king of all villains, the one who drives Batman the most insane. The one who is always a thorn in his side. And I'm sure that Nolan knows this. I haven't read the script and I probably won't since I don't want the movie to be ruined for me before I see it on the big screen, but you would have to imagine that for Nolan's telling, the Joker doesn't die in this one. Nor should. And the movie is in post-production, so it's pretty much finished except for re-takes that might be needed to fix somethings. I hope the ending isn't one of them.

To me, you leave it end the way it was supposed to. I know that if they left it open-ended, then the question would be, is the Joker going to be in third one? And I imagine that Nolan has an idea of where he wants to go with the third one and right now only he and his brother, who co-wrote Batman Begins and The Dark Knight know how they want the story to progress. And if that includes the Joker, then maybe they will have to re-cast the role. But for now, The Dark Knight should be left alone and keep the ending that they filmed. I'm sure if someone were to ask Ledger by chance, he would have wanted it that way.