Christopher Nolan Defies Warner Bros and Casts Unexpected Actor as the Joker in The Dark Knight Trilogy

The figure of Batman has always fascinated cinema. Even after around ten films under his belt, fans are still there to find Bruce Wayne. The proof is that they are firmly awaiting the sequel to Matt Reeves' The Batman (Cloverfield), initially planned for 2025, but ultimately postponed to October 2026. If we don't yet have much concrete information regarding this sequel, we obviously find Robert Pattinson in the main role, in a Gotham made to look like New York. We hope that the series centered on the Penguin, which will be released at the end of the year, will be able to give us clues about the future scenario. In view of the real treasure hunt, set up by Reeves during the release of The Batman in the cinema, we can also hope see the Joker again.

For the moment, even his interpreter Barry Keoghan (Saltburn) cannot say more. “I can't say much, but it would be exciting, wouldn't it?” To see the Joker return again. My smile says it all, you know what that means…” he explained enigmatically to Etalk. At the same time, the Joker is one of the most emblematic enemies of the Dark Knight, almost more popular than the superhero. In The Dark Knight by Christopher Nolan, Heath Ledger managed to make him iconic. Unfortunately, when he died, the filmmaker had to find a plan B.

A plan B to avoid

It's only a few weeks after the release of The Dark Knight: the black knight, in 2008, that Heath Ledger died out, shaking up the entire film industry. Obviously, Christopher Nolan who had directed it was shocked, but had to quickly resume his role as filmmaker to finish his trilogy. At the time, he still had Rise to make, but without Joker he had to revise all his plans. We now know that the scenario has been enormously modified. The antagonist had to come back to stand trial, even Ledger was excited. If today it is the villain Bane (Tom Hardy) who is headlining this third film, it has long been envisaged that it will be the mystery man who makes his appearance. For Warner Bros, it was obvious and its actor could only have been Leonardo Di Caprio (Titanic).

However, Nolan stood firm and didn't give in to these demands, explaining that he already had a plan. “After The Dark Knight, the boss of Warner Bros. said, “You have to do the Sphinx. Leo will be the mystery man. You have to tell Nolan, Leo is the mystery man.” But that's not how we work “, revealed the films' screenwriter, David S. Goyer, on the podcast Happy Sad Confused. Obviously, this idea was quickly dismantled, even if it was not totally absurd. Di Caprio has always been close to superhero movie casting. He could even have become Robin in Batman Forever,But this is another story.