I don't think anyone was surprised to hear that, last night, Heath Ledger clinched the coveted Screen Actors' Guild Award for Best Supporting Actor for his absofuckingloutely brilliant portrayal of The Joker in The Dark Knight, a role any actor would kill for, and quite possibly the darkest and most intriguing movie villain of our times.
The award, and more importantly, the Oscar nomination, couldn't have come at a more significant time for the family and friends of the late great actor: exactly one year after his tragic death. (Ledger died on January 22, last year; the Oscar nomination was announced on January 22, this year). Many of them have said it was a very bittersweet moment for them.
Any Batman geek will tell you that Ledger's take on The Joker was by far the best ever, even better than that of Jack Nicholson in Batman (1989). The Joker's fate was left (intentionally?) ambiguous at the end of TDK, but I doubt the producers would want such an iconic character killed off just two movies into the series; it doesn't make sense... at least in terms of "Hollywood Commerce". Now the question is, if The Joker is indeed alive, who's going to play him in a future Batman movie?
And you can bet that there will be at least one more movie in the franchise, and Christoper Nolan and Christian Bale will return (they'd BETTER - It's thanks to them that the Batman story is getting the respect it deserves. Anyone remember the disgustingly campy Batman movies of the mid '90s?). And the producers (maybe not Director Nolan, but definitely Warner Bros) can be tempted to recast the role.
But I really can't think of anyone that could fill the (very big) shoes left by Ledger. I say, if the producers can't find a good enough replacement, then drop the role altogether. That, I think, is the right thing to do, for Ledger and for the fans.
Bring on the Oscars, baby. Let's put a smile on that face!
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Image courtesy Wikipedia.
