By now, the question of whether there will be a sequel to “The Dark Knight” has been asked ad nauseum. Most of us suspect that there will indeed be a third installment to Christopher Nolan’s brilliant saga. Media sources like the MTV Splash Page are reporting that Nolan and ‘Dark Knight’ co-writer David S. Goyer are in talks to continue the story. The more riveting question is if said members of the Batman franchise would roll the dice and let another actor take on the role of Batman’s greatest nemesis, The Joker. Heath Ledger, who you are aware passed away from an accidental drug overdose unless you live in a mineshaft, seems like an Oscar lock for his performance as The Clown Prince in ‘TDK.’ Emotions clearly are flying high right now over the subject, but it looks like some key people in the Batman camp believe The Joker could be filled by another man’s shoes.
‘TDK’ producer Chuck Roven said at a recent red carpet, “We have to separate the actors from the role,” when asked by Splash Page about whether things would have changed if they had known Ledger wouldn’t be returning. Roven continued, “On a personal level, Heath was a friend of mine. We had worked together before ‘The Dark Knight,’ but I still think that ‘The Dark Knight’ is its own thing, and we have to separate them.” Maybe we’re just hunting for clues like we’re at a Gotham City crime scene, but that really sounds like an endorsement to us for the move to continue The Joker’s story.
The question is a tricky one to answer. Ledger absolutely owned the role in ‘TDK.’. That, combined with his unfortunate passing, makes it difficult to remove the character from being attached to him. Still, there are many people who would tell you that The Joker has been around long before Ledger or other actors like Jack Nicholson, and that the part doesn’t belong to any particular actor, no matter how well they played it. The works of William Shakespeare come to mind when considering this thought. Nobody IS Hamlet. And let’s not forget that there was a time not so long ago when “expert pundits” were up in arms over Nolan’s choice of Ledger to take on the role. “Nobody could match Nicholson’s performance,” we heard. Yeah, about that …
Keeping with the Shakespeare theme, we think an adequate choice would be Joseph Gordon-Levitt. He has the look and the talent possibly to play second fiddle in The Joker’s symphony. Call it Six Degrees of “10 Things I Hate about You,” as Ledger and Gordon-Levitt teamed up in the modern adaptation of “Taming of the Shrew.”