Huge Batman Sequel Update: We Officially Have a Title and The Joker!

There's almost no situation that I wouldn't like to see Philip Seymour Hoffman in something, but Ledger I'm sure will do well. After the last one I think Christopher Nolan's earned a little trust anyway.

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What is there to debate? Besides the fact that news travel slow around here. Ledger is a great choice for the Joker and I'm sure Nolan and Goyer will do the sequel justice. However, I must say that I could care less about the Penguin even if Hoffman takes the role. Now if only Nolan could somehow incorporate Talia al Ghul or Harley Quinn into the film, we could end up with something truly special.

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well....if nolan is going to keep up what he did with the first movie, refering to the more 'realistic' approach to batman than the burton movies, then seeing an actor like ledger going insane before our eyes will be that much more 'real' to us because we haven't seen this in him before...could be really cool if they pull it off....seeing ledger 'hit his stride' as an actor in this role could really be something cool...here's hoping....

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"The Dark Knight"

I like it. But I bet you they go with "Batman: The Dark Knight."

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so if Ledger pulls this off, will a comic book movie get nominated for an acting oscar?

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I agree with you: I think Ledger is a fantastic choice for the role of the Joker. He has emerged as one of the better actors in Hollywood right now, so I can't wait to see how this turns out!

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...I think it is a mid-blowing choice!! Love the title - it reminds me of how Bob Kane delved into the dark places of Batman's personality, even in a so-called "comic book!"It should be a fascinating film to look forwards to on the big screen!!

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Lovely title, and I trust Ledger will surprise us all. I just hope they don't give him any dumb design as they do for the villians on "The Batman". But Ras Al Ghoul (whatever) and scarecrow were realistic, so it might work.

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Here's to hoping that Ledger's Joker is one of a homicidal felon "with a flair for the theatrical" instead of Nicholson's Joker, which was more like a court jester. I'm praying that this movie keeps the dark feel and realism of the last one, and that this Joker is indeed one you wouldn't want to meet in an alley alone.

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@Martha...yes it's just you because that show was called "Forever Knight" and previously "Nick Knight" (when it starred Rick Springfield) "The Dark Knight" is of course the name of Frank Miller's Batman masterpiece that brought the caped crusader to the modern times and turned him into the effing brilliant chracter that he is today.

I guess since "Batman Begins" had a lot of "Batman: Year One" elements, we can expect "The Dark Kniht" to cover even more of Millar's ground. All hail Nolan! Now let's make it a success so the WB can get a clue and really, for reals this time, relaunch the Superman franchise proper.

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these comments need a spell check!!

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I trust Nolan. I mean, if the man was able to look at Tom Wilkinson and say "yes, I can see you as a tough gangster with a hard Italian American accent," then I'm sure that he looked at Heath Ledger and became convinced that he can be (or become before our very eyes) the Joker...

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While I must admit that upon hearing the news about Ledger being offered the role of the Joker a shiver of fear went up my spine, I'm starting to warm up to the idea. His performance in "Brokeback" was astounding, and I think that if he can put as much emotion behind the Joker as he did the last time, we'll all be in for a treat.

As a side note, I also agree with B3MIKE: If they can find a way to incorporate Harley Quinn into the story without watering down her character, that would be fantastic.

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Ledger will invent a preposterous speaking style and constantly appear to be holding back a giggling fit.

Just like in Brokeback.

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Stephen, The Dark Knight comes from the one of The Batman's many nicknames "The Dark Knight Detective", not from Frank Miller, whose story was title "The Dark Knight Returns" BTW. That story was set in the future, not modern times. Frank Miller got his title using the nickname, not the other way around. Though he has influenced other writers Miller hasn't written any Batman tales in modern times. His story was more of a back to basics approach to the character.

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#13 - Right on the money!!

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still not thrilled by this decision but I will hold full judgement til the film.

I still wish they had gone with Christopher Eccelstone.

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#14 i realize it was "The Dark Knight Returns" what i meant when i said Frank Miller modernized Batman was that Miller's book axed the campy (for lack of a better word) image that Batman had for years starting with the 60's TV Show and continuing on through the Superfriends cartoon. I could have worded my post better. Still "The Dark Knight" sounds nothing like "Forever Knight" as Martha was implying and my "Year one" theory still holds.

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I wonder if they even considered Mark Hamill. He at least has the voice down pat, and I think he could have pulled off the live action version. I'm anxious to see what Ledger can do with the role, though.

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I still don't believe either of these.

*Batman - The Dark Knight* is a clunky title. Just as *Batman - The Intimidation Game* was. Wise up, folks, its the production title; not the final name of the film. One should also remember that *Batman - The Dark Knight* was one of the titles thrown around by Warner Bros. back when Joel Schumacher was planning *Batman V* before he was removed from the project.

I still am suspect about Ledger's casting. And we all should be considering how coy Nolan & Warner Bros. was with the casting of Liam Neeson in the last film. He certainly did not turn out to be "Henri Ducard". It is possible that Ledger has been cast as a "Jack Napier" character (or a "Red Hood") who does not become The Joker and the production crew is having a laugh on all of us by saying he's been cast as The Joker.

That's what I'm hoping for, because Heath Ledger is no Christopher Eccleston who truly should be The Joker.

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ps. As with my standard operating procedure for cast suggestions...Monica Bellucci for Talia Al Ghul!

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