The rumors are all over! Heath Ledger has signed the dotted line to play the Joker in the sixth Batman epic, so Variety is reporting.
Christian Bale and Sir Michael Caine will reprise their roles as Batman/Bruce Wayne and Alfred the superhero’s faithful butler and confidant.
Christopher Nolan is returning to the director’s chair for a script penned by his brother Jonah Nolan and partner David Goyer. The next sequel will be titled “Batman: The Dark Knight.”
All of the entertainment industry is holding its collective breath on the success of this feature. The era of superhero flicks are in danger with the less than expected box office returns from X-Men 3 and Superman Returns, as well as the totally dismal showing of Uma Thurman’s comedy disaster, My Super Ex-Girlfriend. “Batman Begins,” the franchise’s first installment in eight years, took in $205 million domestically and $166 million overseas.
Production with Warner Bros. will start next winter, it’s likely “The Dark Knight” will be slotted into the summer 2008 lineup.
Currently, two other major motion pictures are scheduled for the first weekend of May 2008 — the 22nd James Bond feature, from Sony/MGM, and “Iron Man,” from Marvel and Paramount. Disney’s next “Chronicles of Narnia” installment is also expected for release that summer. The comeptition will be ripe for “The Dark Knight.”
Walter says
E-gad! “holding it’s collective breath”? Come on! Okay, I won’t go into this again, except to say that how could X3 have done less than expected business when it has done more than both of the other X-Men? Where are you getting this information?
Heath Ledger is an…interesting choice. I trust Chris Nolan completely, so I’m sure he knows what he is doing. Really looking forward to this one. Oh, assuming the era of the superhero film doesn’t die out before then. Ha ha!
wlg
Jeremy from Seattle says
Boo.
Crispin Glover all the way.
Sam says
Walter…you seem upset that the Hollywood brass were less than thrilled with X-Men 3’s take at the B.O.
You and I may have been thrilled with it, but we don’t make decisions on what a film is expected to make. That is the job of the people backing a movie with their cash.
I personally agree with you and think X-Men did just fine. But, the money people don’t agree with us. They were expecting >$300 million in its very first weekend out of the gate. It didn’t make that, so they are not happy.
As far as I’m concerned, in today’s market, with competition for our movie dollar coming from everywhere in the world, if any big budget movie does at least $200 mil out of the gate that’s an accomplishment….but evidently those making the decisions are not looking to you and I for that kind of input.
Walter says
No, I’m not upset specifically that the Hollywood brass were less than thrilled. I’m baffled because this site is the only place where I have ever heard that they were upset. I’m just wondering where you’re getting that info? I’m not saying necessarily that they weren’t disappointed, I just haven’t seen that reported anywhere else. Sorry to beat a dead horse here.
wlg
Sam says
Since it’s my job to puruse almost every available resource to get our stories, plus our 12 reporters scattered across the globe and the fans by the scores who send in stories from places we would not likely normally see…I’d say the sources were extensive or I wouldn’t have printed it.
On the Sunday night that closed X-Men 3’s first debut weekend out, the statistics and the “money-changers'” feelings about the take were quite readily accessible from Variety, CNN Entertainment, FOX News, MSNBC, The Hollywood Reporter. In fact, my original research came from a culmination of those sources plus, as a member of the press I have access from a variety of sources such as Box Office Mojo and others. The same sources used by all of those listed above.
I know that there are some who visit us who think this is just a dog and pony show here, but we take our job and reporting responsibility quite seriously. I have allowed others to scoop us on stories just to make sure we have it right before going online with it. At other times we have scooped the so-called “big boys.” Regardless, don’t think for a minute that we are not dedicated to good and accurate reporting, but in this game one must also keep in mind that as quickly as we go to “press” any story can change completely. In those cases we generally do an update to the original or we do a new story with the changed information.
In this particular case, the money people, while happy with the overall outcome (including overseas B.O.), were not at all pleased with X-3’s opening weekend take. In fact, many were bemoaning the fact that “The Da Vinci Code” stole a lot of their thunder and patrons. Here is just one quote from Box Office Mojo that shows that, while the third movie in the franchise did better than the previous two it fell quicker as well: “X-Men: The Last Stand devolved 67 percent to $34 million, the steepest post-Memorial Day opening drop on record.”………..”X-Men: The Last Stand’s weekend progression suggested an urgency among moviegoersâ€â€business declined 29 percent on Saturdayâ€â€and the Memorial holiday, when Sunday behaves like a second Saturday, always inflates grosses, leading to precipitous drops the following weekend.”
Like I said earlier, I was personally happy with X-3’s showing. It grossed $123 mil in its first weekend alone…nothing to spit at….but, it had no staying power throughout that weekend (soundly beating out the previous Memorial Day weekend holder Jurassic Park), and that is what the money people were looking at.
Walter says
Okay, I certainly didn’t mean suggest this was a dog and pony show, if that’s what you thought. I was just asking where you got your information since many of the sites I visit have not taken the view you have. I appreciate you taking the time to share more detailed information. I don’t agree that the era of superhero flicks is in danger, but now I understand where you are coming from when you say that. Again, not trying to cause trouble, just looking for more details.
wlg
Sam says
Never thought you were causing trouble Walter. I appreciate our readers, listeners and fans asking questions and challenging our stories when they believe we may be either in error or possibly over/understating a point. It keeps us on our toes, makes for good investigative reporting and allows for us to be able to share with one another, just as we have done here.
Please, feel free to keep your comments coming. We welcome them.
Kyle Nin says
Even if the “era of superhero flicks” ends, there will still be the occasional superhero movie (like one or two a year). They won’t completely die out, they’ll just be less in number.
Bronzethumb says
I reckon Chris Nolan is a terrific director and will make the absolute best movie he possibly can, but casting Heath Ledger as the Joker…that seems pretty iffy to me. Don’t get me wrong, he’s a great actor, but I just don’t see him as the Joker and in most of the Superhero movies, casting the right person can make or break a film (what do you think Batman Begins would’ve been like without Bale or Cain or Oldman? Or Superman Returns without Routh or Spacey?).