Don't Expect the Joker in 'The Dark Knight Rises'

I watched The Dark Knight again the other night, and my memories of the film being a masterpiece were once again confirmed. The film made me stop whatever it was I was working on and give it my full attention, even though I've already seen it countless times.

It goes without saying that Heath Ledger is the film's crown jewel. If you still cling to the idea that Jack Nicholson's version of The Joker was better, you clearly weren't watching the same film. When it comes to the live-action Batman movies, Ledger is The Joker, pure and simple. After Ledger's passing, rumors have popped up from time to time that his character would still make an appearance in The Dark Knight Rises, either through extra footage from The Dark Knight or played by someone with a resemblance to Ledger like Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

Well, director Christopher Nolan puts an end to those rumors in the latest issue of Empire Magazine. ComicBookMovie.com has the key excerpts from the interview:

"We're not addressing The Joker at all. That is something I felt very strongly about in terms of my relationship with Heath and the experience I went through with him on The Dark Knight. I didn't want to in any way try and account for a real-life tragedy. That seemed inappropriate to me. We just have a new set of characters and a continuation of Bruce Wayne's story. Not involving The Joker."

We shouldn't be surprised that Nolan doesn't plan on revisiting The Joker in The Dark Knight Rises. Ledger's death aside, everything we've seen from The Dark Knight Rises makes it clear that Nolan is bringing his saga full circle back to Batman Begins (with the exception of that shot of Bane holding a picture of Harvey Dent though ...). If Ledger was still alive though, I firmly believe that The Dark Knight Rises would be a very different film from what it became.