Can I get a "Holy casting against type, Batman"?
Chris Nolan, sire of the sober, psychological Batman Begins and its 2008-slated sequel The Dark Knight, is taking his theory of Bat-realism to the next level: He’s made Heath Ledger his Joker. The choice is hardly intuitive, which is part of what makes it so darned interesting. Was this news released under cover of Gibson to staunch the expected fan kerfuffle? If so, it’s not going to work. Debates will rage.
Hardcore Bat aficionados enjoyed but never accepted Jack Nicholson’s flubbery demon yuppie; they much preferred the Mark Hamill-voiced animated version, which hewed closer to the comic book character.
Ledger will likely take an entirely different approach — perhaps something of his Knight’s Tale theatricality, coupled with his Brokeback brooding and just a pinch of Casanova (where he proves he’s adept at eluding men in black cloaks). In all seriousness, there will be much seriousness: The Joker, toxically clownified or no, will have some sort of deep, real hurt to nurse, if Nolan holds with the mood he established in Begins.
But, wow, with Philip Seymour Hoffman rumored to be Nolan’s (as yet reluctant) pick for The Penguin, will there really be any room for another villain? I can feel a showdown coming in the air tonight. Oh, Lord. Oh, Lord.
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Prior to Brokeback Mountain I would have dismissed Heath, mainly for the movies he’s chosen and the fact that they really didn’t stretch him. Of course Brokeback makes it all more interesting, because he has proven that he can delve down deep into a character and really grasp what it’s about. And if he can bring that intensity opposite Bale, well, then we’re onto something magical.
I think Heath is a fine choice. He can play fun (Knight’s Tale), serious (Brokeback Mountain) or just off the wall (Lords of Dogtown) with no problem.
Bring it!
Aw, he’ll be great. Lately, he doesn’t seem like he would take on a project unless he felt he could give it his all. Plus he’s a poppa now so I’m sure that’s one of the reasons why he is taking on a comic book themed movie.
Not a fan of this casting, but I’ll give Nolan the benefit of the doubt for now. Still, not the greatest news for the Bat franchise, but I hope I’m wrong. PSH as the Penguin could be genius.
I think that if Heath just playsa the Joker like he played in “10 Things I Hate About You” (remember, the singing, the bleechers, the grin)he’ll do just fine!
Check out his IMDB cover photo: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005132/
Paint some clown makeup on him and he’s the Joker. I think Ledger will do a great job!
Awesome choice, I’m glad it didn’t end up being Robin Williams, that could have been REAL hammy, and with Hoffman as the Penguin, HOLY CAN’T WAIT TO SEE IT, BATMAN!!!
I thought he was great in “10 things I hate about you” and will be happy to root against him. Still, it does seem a bit Anti-Nolan to cast such a big actor in the role. When you’ve got brooding actors like Christian Bale and Gary Oldman as the protagonists, a Joe Pantoliano or Guy Pearce as the Joker would have been aces.
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Let me say this upfront- my first exposure to Batman was the movie with Micheal Keaton and Jack Nicholson (which I freaking loved!). Jack’s Joker is what I identify that character with because I never read the comic books and the movie came out when I was young. To me, it will be hard to see Heath in that character because I liked J.N. so much! He even frightened me!! I HOPE Heath does a good job. He is a talented actor. As long as they bring Christian Bale back (whom I’ve loved since Newsies), then they could cast Keanu Reeves as the Joker… wait, I took that a little too far. Sorry, I’ve been drinking.
YES! YES! YES! what a fantastically natural choice. After his Oscar Winning Turn in Brokeback Mountain (which made me cry and I’m straight!) I think Mr. Ledger can play anything, and he deserves a career full of artistic subtlety and over the top action, he deserves the academy’s attention and the box office downpour. Nicholson played joker YES, but Mr. Ledger is going to own it.
PS: I made the mistake of saying Oscar Winning turn, knowing that he did not win… but hey, he won it in my heart and that’s good enough for me.
The more I think about it, I don’t think it’s a bad choice. I’m one of those that think the cartoon series was vastly superior to the movies. I’m glad Nolan has decided not to go the “crazy, wacky clown” route like Burton did.
BTW, EP Sato, I don’t think Heath can be considered a big name star just yet. Except for Brokeback and possibly 10 things, his films have all flopped. If he can pull this off, this will be a good next step to becoming a “star.”
I think this could work, I am not 100% sure but it sounds interesting. Ledger seems to be the kind of actor who would not try and steal the show and make it all about him like Jack did. Plus if they get the homicidal maniac aspect of the Joker right it could be awesome. And I totally agree with Nate about casting of Robin Williams as the Joker, good god that would be awful.
But if Hoffman is going to be the Penguin my question is who where is two face. I thought Harvey Dent was going to be featured in 2 and then two-face shows up in three. Although if Penguin is a background character who pretends to be legit it could be good especially if he owns the Iceberg Lounge.
We’ll see. I like Heath Ledger’s work, but I’m not convinced he’ll be a good Joker. Sean Penn or Paul Bettany, two actors who were earlier mentioned as Joker, seem to me to be better choices.
People always seem to forget Lords of Dogtown which was a surprise movie for me last summer- Heath was really good in that (and a bit of a departure), heart-breaking in Brokeback and I just adored him in 10 things…I love the idea of casting outside the box and trust that Nolan knows what he is doing. I like not having someone like Jack Nicholson (who was in his 50s at the time of the first) because if I remember correctly from the comics, Batman and Joker weren’t that far off in age (not like the 20 year difference between JN and Michael Keaton). But I could be remembering wrong. I think that the movie will still rock.
So ‘Batman II’ is now officially titled ‘The Dark Knight?’ Great title, but does this mean ‘Superman VI’ will be called ‘The Man of Steel?’
Seriously though, Ledger is an inspired choice (i.e. I never would have thought of him). Considering how great ‘Batman Begins’ was, I have 100% faith in Nolan. This guy clearly knows what he’s doing (same with Raimi on ‘Spider-Man’ and Singer with ‘Superman’)!
I don’t care if Heath ledger gets it as Joker, because its obvious Mark Hamill is the one and only choice, Return of the joker being on of the greatest animated movies, and if Nolsn can’t see that, the I just fee.l sorry for him.
oh man… paul bettany would have been great here… and I think a good cast would have been Sean Bean-Boromir in lord of the rings, the pissed off irishman in Patriot Games, and has even acted with Christian Bale before in Equilibrium (a really really good movie…)
but oh well, where will my whimsical notions of talent get me? it looks like the die is cast. I won’t rule out heath, i’ve seen actors surprise me before, and EVERY character of the first movie was perfectly cast-no exceptions… absolutely perfect… so i guess i’ll trust their judgement and reserve my own until i’ve seen the film. Go get ‘em Heath!
ps. as an australian, this bloke makes me proud.. an aussie in batman, i love it. unlike mel gibson…. cough….
I think that Heath Ledger will make a fine Joker. I just hope that the movie gives him some good gadgets to play with, like the ‘New and Improved Joker Products’ from the movie with Nicholson. You can see the amazing effectiveness of those products by looking at recent photos of Christie Brinkley and Priscilla Presley, just to name a few.
…and where is Harley Quinn? She would make an excellent addition to the movie.
Okay – problems. First off, Batman Begins was good. Christian Bale did a dead-on performance of what Bruce Wayne/Batman should be. However, the script was weak – as is Superman Returns (and don’t get me started on this!). Plenty of style but no substance. That brings me to the Joker – same thing but reversed. Heath Ledger is a fine actor with plenty of substance but little style. He may bring something to the role but when flash overpowers a weak story I just snooze away for a couple of hours. Plus, I’m tired of all the bull**** B-films starring A-list actors. It’s lame, uncreative and boring as Hades.
I keep thinking about that wide, sick kind of grin he had in “10 Things I Hate About You”. And while I have my own favorites (I liked Paul Bettany, Crispin Glover, D.J. Qualls, and Danny Elfman– don’t scoff, he had the sickest grin in those old Oingo Boingo videos!), I think he’s an excellent choice to reinvent the Joker with.
One thing that makes me really optomistic is that Batman Begins sort of reinvented Batman… and did an awesome job. They’re making you look at it a new way, it’s darker, more like the comics, less like the kids cartoons, and they did it wonderfully. So while they have me interested in their “new direction”, I find myself open to possiblities, and i’m kind of curious if they nail this as well as they did with everything else they’ve done. this could be really good
I can’t wait.. Heath is hot and I love him in pretty much every movie he’s made.
Ryan Philippe as Two Face? Now that’s great casting!!!!!!!! (Just read the bottom of the casting against type)
I think that they’re going for the younger audience, Heath Ledger as Joker when we had Jack Nicholson, Ryan Philippe as Two Face when we had Tommy Lee Jones, and Philip Seymour Hoffman as Penguin when we had Danny De Vito.
Funny how all of them (Ledger, Phillippe, and Hoffman) were all conected to last year’s Oscar, (Ledger, Nominee against Hoffman, who won, and Phillippe whose film beat out Ledger and Hoffman for Best Picture, and whose wife won Best Actress)
I was also rooting for Crispin Glover (the man is just creepy, period). But I trust Nolan.
BATMAN BEGINS had a perfect cast. There wasn’t a single weak link among the cast. Even the 1/2 of TomKat was really good as Rachel Dawes. Which bring me to the next point? Since Katie Holmes will not be returning, who is going to be the love interest in THE DARK KNIGHT?
POW! BOOM! ZPLAT! I’m ready for another Bat movie pronto!
I think this is BRILLIANT casting … when I first heard the rumors about this I got really excited and now I cant wait to see how well he does! Now I just hope that Hoffman gets to be Penguin and then this will turn out to be the best Batman EVER!
Batman Begins showed us that Christopher Nolan knows what he’s doing, and I think The Dark Knight will be great. The thought of Heath Ledger and Philip Seymour Hoffman as The Joker and Penguin going up against Christian Bale’s Batman is awesome, and now I can’t wait for the sequel. They’re inspired choices that will make the movie just as good (if not better) than the first. I gotta say, the idea of Ryan Philippe as Harvey Dent/Two-Face is also pretty cool (plus, he’s easy on the eyes!)
Interesting choices for the Joker and Penguin. My wish, though, is to focus on one villian, not two. That’s been the downfall of the previous Batman movies. Too many baddies competing for screen time.