A new idea

[klunderbunker]

Recently an online group has started a petition demanding that the Joker character be retired from all future Batman movies in light of the death of Heath Ledger. So far the petition has gotten over 2,500 signatures and that number is growing. While no one really knows if this will work or not, the group certainly seems to think it will. Should this happen? Should Joker be retired?

My answer is a resounding NO. Sure Ledger is the best Joker of all time. That's what people said about Jack Nicholson's portrayal also. There's no way you can guarantee that no one will ever top Ledger. He'll get the best supporting actor award. That's his legacy for the role. His character lives at the end of the movie and therefore could play a role in a future film. Is he supposed to just disappear? I get what they want to do, but to me it's absurd.

Thoughts?

 

[NSL]

Absurd is the best way to put it.

Without the Joker, the Batman franchise would be dead. Sure, there's other villains, but none quite like him. He's the best villain in all of the comic book world, and he's certainly the best on TV and in movies. Everyone cheers for him, but no one wants him to win. That's a fantastic dynamic. The Joker is a little bit of everyone of us, and everything we want to be.

Heath Ledger's portrayal was phenomenal, and we all know that. I'm not going to beat a dead horse. As far as someone topping it? It would be tough. I loved Nicholson's, but his Joker was a media sell-out imitation of the Joker. Heath's is perfect when compared to the comics and graphic novels, and was dark enough, that I haven't let my 5 yr old watch it yet.

The Joker character needs to live on. Of course a re-cast wouldn't be as great as what we got in The Dark Knight, but the character needs to be there.

 

[The Mark of Zur-En-Arrh]

The Joker is a character that has been re-imagined and re-designed a countless number of times since his character's inception some 70+ years ago. In those 70 years he's also never even had a concrete origin, which is something they even played on in The Dark Knight.

"Wanna know how i got these scars?"

He wouldn't necessarily need scars if he happened to appear again either. There's this wonderful thing called 'plastic surgery' see. The Clown Prince of Crime would probably choose to mutilate himself further, but you get my point.

If Chris Nolan does another Bat flick, he blatantly won't use the Joker in the film again. It's most likely going to be Riddler and Penguin or maybe even Bane or they could do what i want them to do and use Scarface, but no Joker.

The only way he'd probably use Joker, is in some weird scene with Bats walking through Arkham with shots of all the psychos he's caught during his career in Gotham. You'd see Scarecrow blabbing on about fear, and Falcone jibbering on (probably just repeating the word 'Scarecrow' over and over still), and then Joker probably playing Solitaire and laying down a dead man's hand followed by a trademark Joker laugh (which in fact would be a testament not only to The Animated Series, but to Batman R.I.P story which they just finished writing).

Anyway, it'd be a cameo. Use some digital effects to make it look like Ledger and get somebody else to mimic the voice and there ya go.

If someone else ever did a remake of the Batman franchise with the Joker character involved, everyone would still flock to the cinema to see it.

Basic fact, Joker draws.

This petition isn't going to achieve shit. I've never heard of a petition that has prevented the use of a character or the writing of a film. Has anyone else?

To those 2,500 people.... why so serious?

 

[Tim]

Come on people, don't be so sensitive. Yes, Ledger was great as the Joker. But just because he was great in the role, does it really mean nobody else should play that role? The Joker is one of the best villains that the Batman series has, sure they can use other villains, but none are quite the same as the Joker. He just has that psychotic personality, that allows him to do anything he wants. So I'd say why not use him? Would it be an insult to his memory? No, I do not think so, if they got someone to portray the Joker well. These people need to think this over a bit and see whether they've done the right thing.

 

[Mr. TM]

Well I am sure if anymore Batman movies are released in the serious, Joker wont be in them for a while. He is one of the best characters in the movies, but he is not alone in great villians. If he does make a return, a new actor isn't such a big deal, they replaced Katie Holmes in the movies. If they have a new actor, and the new actor does a great job, then people will either hate it, because they are clos minded to the fact that someone can be better to Heath, or they will love it for what it is.