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Family Of Heath Ledger Confirm The Dark Knight Rises Rumour

Family Of Heath Ledger Confirm The Dark Knight Rises Rumour

A rumour which started shortly after the release of the Batman film was the talk amongst fans, and it has now been confirmed.

Mischa Pearlmen

Mischa Pearlmen

Heath Ledger's timeless performance as The Joker in The Dark Knight is one of the highest rated cinematic performances by any villain.

Tragically, just six months before the opening of the film, he died unexpectedly after an accidental overdose on prescription drugs. His memory would live on, however, thanks to his acting skills, especially as The Joker, and his family were given a posthumous Oscar for his performance in the Batman film.

Next in line to be released was The Dark Knight Rises and Tom Hardy was cast as Bane, to become the next iconic villain in the series. Fans rumoured amongst themselves that this was actually never the plan, however, and that Nolan actually wanted to finish the story which Ledger had started.

via GIPHY

This was never confirmed, though, as no one actually knew if the finals scenes of The Joker hanging upside down were going to be kept a dramatic cliff-hanger and nothing more. Thanks to Ledgers sister, Kate Ledger, though, we now know that he planned to wear the horrific makeup and purple suit once again.

She spoke with Australian media outlet news.com.au regarding the documentary being made on her brother's life and death, and confirmed that the late actor wanted nothing more than to make a return to Gotham City.

She said: "He was so proud of what he had done in Batman. And I know he had plans for another Batman.

The Joker
The Joker

"He loved working with Chris Nolan and Christian Bale and Gary Oldman. He just had the best time ever doing that film. When he came home at Christmas, he couldn't wait to tell us all about it, and he was doing the voice and laughing, showing me all the rushes. We had a great time."

So there it is. I think it would have been an amazing addition to see another Ledger performance as The Joker and finally get some sort of conclusion, but the mystery which shrouds the whereabouts of him in Nolan's universe is something pretty unique as well. I also loved the Dark Knight Rises so I would have hoped that was always in the works anyway, and wasn't made purely due to the unfortunate passing of a great actor.


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Topics: Entertainment, TV and Film, Christian Bale, The Joker, Batman