Will Heath Ledger's death change The Dark Knight?

[29yrswithaGApass]

Article from Yahoo!Buzz:

 

The Fate of The Dark Knight

Searches Surge for Heath Ledger as The Joker

By Molly McCall

Fri, January 25, 2008, 3:41 pm PST

 

 

For months now, buzz has been building for "The Dark Knight," the next edition of the "Batman" film franchise. Directed by Christopher Nolan, the upcoming movie stars Christian Bale as Batman—and Heath Ledger as The Joker.

 

Advertising for the blockbuster release, which will hit theaters in July, has focused on Ledger's grisly, battered-looking super villain. Now, as The Wall Street Journal says, "the actor's death puts into question the future of the Joker-centric marketing push... and whether Warner Bros. will change tactics rather than risk a negative response." AFP quoted one source as saying that the dilemma the studio finds itself in is "unprecedented in the modern era."

 

We don't know how people will respond to the movie's marketing or its release, but the fate of the film and the look of Ledger's bruised bad guy have electrified searchers. After news broke of Ledger's shocking death, queries for "heath ledger" catapulted upwards. The next most sought-out search was "heath ledger joker." Since his death, demand for the actor's portrayal of the criminal mastermind has surged nearly 3,600%.

 

Over the past week, we've also logged massive spikes in terms like "batman the dark knight joker," "heath ledger joker pictures," and "heath ledger as the new joker." General queries, such as "dark knight movie" and "batman the dark knight trailer," have skyrocketed.

 

One of the posters for the movie features an image of the Caped Crusader's arch foe scrawling "Why so serious?" in blood. Yesterday, "the dark knight why so serious" surged. For as long as Ledger's death remains in the news, there will surely be intensified focus on the film. What happens after that, and how seriously audiences respond to the summer release and its greasecaked clown criminal, remains to be seen.

 

It should be interesting to see if Warner Brothers makes any changes to The Dark Knight as a result of Heath Ledger's (The Joker) recent death. It's possible that WB may consider tweaking the film, or at minimum the marketing of the film which so far has highlighted Ledger's over-the-edge character. Six Flags is required to work closely with Warner Brothers, DC comics, and the film's production team to insure all licensing rules are adhered to. If a change in focus takes place for the film, this could impact the ride's themeing.

[BuddyChrist]

NO! I feel sorry that he died but I really hope they do not change the film at all! From what I have gathered, Heath nailed the role and made it the definitive Joker portrayal! He put so much into this role that it would be a slap in his face to edit it because of his death. He would be disappointed if they watered down the role. The movie is 6 months from now so hopefully the focus of his death won't be so negative against the movie. Leave the movie as it is, it's a role that he mastered and is a part of his legacy, don't take it away from him.

 

Just my thoughts on the matter.

[29yrswithaGApass]

From what little I have seen of his character, he looks terrifying. Quite a transformation!

[rcji]

Being the filiming was done and they are in post-production I would say no. Either way I would still think Six Flags would continue to do what they were doing being they had it planned out and had to tear down rides to make this.