My first ever post on this blog (apart from the welcome message of course!!), was way back on July 23th….two full designs ago….. where I announced the huge news that Heath Ledger was take on the role of The Joker for the then untitled Batman Begins sequel.
If you go back and read the post, you can see I was angry, pissed off and a little dumbfounded at the casting.
As of today, I’ve calmed down just a bit and decided that we should trust Christopher Nolan and his vision. I still think there was far better names he could have chosen but I’ve seen a bit more of Heath Ledger’s work now and there is some un-tapped potential there.
So now we have moved on from the casting decision…. the question now arises as to how Ledger should portray The Joker on screen?
Should he be more villainous than comedic? Should he be a ruthless killing homicidal manic or should he have an ounce of sympathy? Should we be scared of The Joker, or laugh out loud alongside him like Jack Nicholson?
Should we see his flashback and how he became the clown prince of crime, or should it be left ambiguous? Should he have a permanent cut out grin on his face or should he be deformed from a falling into a vat of chemicals.
I’m not really quite sure myself and as I should be on my way driving to the shopping center with my girlfriend, instead of pondering about how a villain should be played in a movie that won’t be released until July next year…… I will leave my thoughts on it for another time perhaps….
Below is a video from the fan made Batman: Dead End starring Clark Bartam as a very convincing Batman and Andrew Koenig as The Joker. It was made a couple of years ago now but it’s very interesting for it’s portrayal of The Joker in what is a far scarier and more sinister depiction than any other live action adaptation to date. I don’t know about you Bat-Fans but when I read a Batman comic, this is The Joker I see on the pages and hear in my voice.
If Heath Ledger goes in this direction, it could be very interesting indeed (just stop watching the video when Alien and Predator get involved!)….
3 Comments
I think Ledger should definitely bring it down a notch from the Joker portrayal in that short film. Batman Begins was all about losing the flash and excessiveness of the previous films and their worlds/atmospheres/portrayals. I think the Ledger’s Joker should follow suit. A lot of mystery and face in shadows and only a maniac laugh in key scenes would make a more sinister, scary Joker.
I joined the heathledger.net website so I could reply to your excerpted article which appeared there about how Heath should portray the Joker. I was going to remark to YOU that you should see the Joker portrayal in “Batman – Dead End” on YouTube (That part of your article about Koenig’s Joker didn’t make it on there). I agree with you, and think that Heath can draw a lot of inspiration from that more sinister portrayal, for sure. Great minds think alike. FYI, did you know that Cesar Romero, the “Batman” TV series Joker, supposedly didn’t like Jack Nicholson’s portrayal of the character when he saw the first “Batman” movie with Michael Keaton?
Hi Phillip,
No I didn’t know that Cesar Romero didn’t like Nicholson’s portrayl but I know many people didn’t.
Some felt (and I slightly do, although I love what he did with it) that it was just Jack playing Jack.