Top 10 Batman actors in the order they were casted In the film, Batman is forced out of his self-imposed retirement following the events of The Dark Knight; he allies with Selina Kyle / Catwoman to take on Bane, a physically imposing revolutionary allied with the League of Shadows that is featured in Batman Begins. When it was released in July, The Dark Knight received acclaim for its mature tone and themes, visual style, and performancesparticularly that of Ledger, who received many posthumous awards including Academy, BAFTA, and Golden Globe awards for Best Supporting Actor, making The Dark Knight the first comic-book film to receive major industry awards. It earned $158.4million during the weekend, a per-theater average of $36,282, breaking Spider-Man 3's record and making it the number-one film ahead of Mamma Mia! [bb] A 2018 retrospective by The Hollywood Reporter said The Dark Knight taught filmmakers "comic book characters are malleable. [233], Bale's reception was mixed; his performance was considered to be alternately "captivating" or serviceable, but ultimately uninteresting and undermined by portraying an immovable and generally unchanged character who delivers Batman's dialog in a hoarse, unvarying tone. WebThe Dark Knight: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the soundtrack album to the 2008 film of the same name, which is a sequel to Christopher Nolan's 2005 film Batman Begins.The soundtrack was released on July 15, 2008, in three editions: CD, limited edition CD digipak, and digital download.The 2-CD Special Edition was released on December 9, In 2008, Ebert wrote; "[The Dark Knight], and to a lesser degree Iron Man, redefine the possibilities of the 'comic-book movie'". 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[252] Ledger won the film's only awards at the 15th Screen Actors Guild Awards, 62nd British Academy Film Awards, and 66th Golden Globe Awards, for Best Supporting Actor. Unbiased. The film, however, leaves open the option to dismiss his insights because his chaos ultimately leads to death and injustice. The Dark Knight is a 2008 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan from a screenplay he co-wrote with his brother Jonathan. ", "The 50 Greatest Movie Villains Of All Time, Ranked", "50 Greatest Superhero Movie Performances of All Time", "The 15 Best Movie Villains of the 21St Century, Ranked", "50 Best Superhero Movie Performances of the Last 50 Years, From Ben Affleck To Zendaya", "The Secret to the Joker's Pencil Trick Is That There Is No Pencil", "11 Things You Never Knew About The Dark Knight", "Top Movie Movements: #95 "Why so serious? The very first live-action version of the Dark Knight came in the 1943 film serial and he was portrayed by Lewis Wilson. The consensus reads; "Dark, complex and unforgettable, The Dark Knight succeeds not just as an entertaining comic book film, but as a richly thrilling crime saga". [32][34][35] Discussions between Warner Bros. Pictures and Christopher began shortly after Batman Begins's theatrical release, and development began following the production of Christopher's The Prestige (2006). [273][274][275] The backlash was such that, for the 82nd Academy Awards awards in 2010, the Academy increased the limit for Best Picture nominees from five to ten, a change known as "The Dark Knight Rule". [af][ag] Rereleases have further raised its box-office take to $1.006billion. [107] Exterior footage of the Gotham Prewitt Building, the site of Batman's and the Joker's final confrontation, was filmed at the in-construction Trump International Hotel and Tower. [219], Several publications called The Dark Knight the best comic-book hero adaptation ever made. His coin is scarred on one side, introducing the risk of chance, and he submits himself to it completely. Christian Bale Batman Begins (2005), The Dark Knight (2008), The Dark Knight Rises (2012) Of this group, West is the only one to have also played Batman in In the comics, Maroni is best known for being the [80], Much of The Dark Knight was filmed using Panavision's Panaflex Millennium XL and Platinum cameras but Christopher wanted to film about 40 minutes with IMAX cameras, a high-resolution technology using 70 mm film rather than the more-commonly used format 35 mm; the finished film includes 1520% IMAX footage, running for about 28 minutes. [59], Christopher wanted to cast an actor with an all-American "heroic presence" for Harvey Dent, something he likened to Robert Redford but with an undercurrent of anger or darkness. Nezha got his hooks into Batman when Black [10], Focusing on Dent meant Bruce Wayne / Batman was written as a generally static character who did not undergo drastic character development. Batman [z], Warner Bros. dedicated six months to anti-piracy methods; the film industry lost an estimated $6.1billion to piracy in 2005. The Actors Who Have Played Batman | Den of Geek [ay] Roger Ebert said the Joker forces impossible ethical decisions on each character to test the limits of their morality. The vigilante Batman, district attorney Harvey Dent, and police lieutenant Jim Gordon ally to eliminate Gotham's organized crime. [276][284] Even so, The Hollwood Reporter argued the Academy mistook the appeals to recognize important, "generation-defining" genre films with just nominating more films. Kevin Conroy is an American actor and voice actor who has become synonymous with the character of Batman. [bd] The MCU is seen as a successful continuation of what made The Dark Knight a success, combining genres and tones relevant to each respective film while treating the source material seriously, unlike the DC Extended Universe, which more closely emulated the tone of The Dark Knight but failed to replicate its success. [x], The Dark Knight's marketing campaign was developed by alternate reality game (ARG) development company 42 Entertainment. [IS] is the Joker. Batman chooses to become a symbol of criminality by taking the blame for Dent's crimes and preserving him as a symbol of good, maintaining the hope of Gotham's residents. ", "Ledger's Oscar Bid From Beyond The Grave", "Posthumous Oscar for Heath Ledger's Joker Performance? [61][131] Christopher added a dedication to Ledger and stuntman Conway Wickliffe, who died during rehearsals for a Tumbler (Batmobile) stunt. A sequel, The Dark Knight Rises, concluded The Dark Knight trilogy in 2012. [an] Other reviews said Ledger outshone Nicholson's "magnificent" performance with macabre humor and malevolence. WebThe Joker is a fictional character in Christopher Nolan 's 2008 superhero film The Dark Knight, in which he is portrayed by Heath Ledger. [j] The final scene, in which the Joker states he and Batman are destined to battle forever, was not intended to tease a sequel but to convey the diametrically opposed pair were in an endless conflict because they will not kill each other. Pennyworth burns an undelivered message to Wayne from Rachel, who said she chose Dent, and Fox destroys the invasive surveillance network that helped Batman find the Joker. [48][49][50] Because the new Batsuit allowed him to be more agile, Bale did not increase his muscle mass as much as he had for Batman Begins. [156] It took several months to achieve Zimmer's desired result. [32], Goyer and Christopher collaborated for three months to develop The Dark Knight's core plot points. [358] The Dark Knight is included in the film-reference book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die,[389] and film critics James Berardinelli and Barry Norman included it in their individual listings of the 100 greatest films of all time. Ben Affleck Is Batman: 16 Actors Who Played the Dark Knight Every Single Batman Actor, Ranked From Worst to Best - Insider [bn] Similarly, the character's line "why so serious?" [305][306] The Dark Knight Coaster, an indoor roller coaster, opened in May 2008 at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson Township, New Jersey. [bf], Since its release, The Dark Knight has been assessed as one of the greatest superhero films ever made,[bg] among the greatest films ever made,[bh] and one of the best sequel films. [i] Christopher and Jonathan later realized they had inadvertently written their version similarly to Joker's first appearance in Batman #1 (1940). Gotham Knight presents six vignettes, each of which are animated in a different artistic style, set between the events of Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. The ensemble cast includes Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Heath Ledger, Gary Oldman, Aaron Eckhart, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Morgan Freeman. He has lent his voice to the Dark Knight in ", "Heath Ledger Golden Globe Nod Boosts Oscar Momentum", "No Joke: Ledger Earns Posthumous Oscar Nod", "The History Of Comic Book Movies at the Oscars", "Everyone Who Has Won A Posthumous Oscar", "Why So Serious? Although the event was expected to attract a few thousand people, 650,000 arrived and participated in activities that included calling a number taken from a plane flying overhead and wearing Joker makeup to commit disruptive acts with actors. [34][36] Goyer and Christopher did not intentionally include real-world parallels to terrorism, the war on terror, and laws enacted to combat terrorists by the United States government because they believed making overtly political statements would detract from the story. [au] This change is seen as responsible for the first Best Picture nomination of a comic book adaptation, Black Panther (2018). The joker playing card scene in Batman Begins was intended to convey the fallacy of Batman's belief his war on crime would be temporary. Dark Knight: The Actors Who Almost Played Batman In Nolan's [52] Josh Lucas, Ryan Phillippe, and Mark Ruffalo were considered, as well as Matt Damon, who could not commit due to scheduling conflicts. [189][190] It retained the number-one position in its third ($42.7million) and fourth ($26.1million) weekends, before falling to second place in its fifth, with a gross of $16.4million, behind the debuting Tropic Thunder ($25.8million). [310] According to historian Stephen Prince, The Dark Knight is about the consequences of civil and government authorities abandoning rules in the fight against terrorism. WebFans were exhausted by director Joel Schumacher's colorful aesthetic and the cartoonish villains played by Arnold Schwarzenegger (Mr. [310] The scene in which Batman stands in the ruins of a destroyed building, having failed to prevent the Joker's plot, is reminiscent of the World Trade Center site after September 11. [ai] Some appreciated its complex moral tale about the effects of vigilantism and terrorism on contemporary society. [307][308], A central theme of The Dark Knight is escalation, particularly the rise of the Joker in response to Batman's vigilantism. He was portrayed in the Batman Nolan Film Stuntman Buster Reeves was due to double as Batman, but Bale persuaded the filmmakers to let him perform the scene himself. [210] Stephanie Zacharek and David Edelstein criticized a perceived lack of visual storytelling in favor of exposition, and aspects of the plot being difficult to follow amid the fast pace and loud score. Dent claims he is Batman to lure out the Joker, who attacks the police convoy transporting him. But you were wrong. [ae] The Dark Knight was available in sixty-two countries by the end of August, although Warner Bros. decided not to release it in China, blaming "a number of pre-release conditions as well as cultural sensitivities to some elements of the film". They wanted it to resonate with and reflect contemporary audiences. [102] The sequence continued on LaSalle Street, which was also used for the GCPD funeral procession, for a practical truck-flip stunt and helicopter sequence. [310][311][318] Critic David Crow wrote Batman's true test is not defeating the Joker but saving Dent, a task at which he fails. [o] According to Christopher, Eckhart had the all-American charm and "aura of a good man pushed too far". Shortly after, Gunn confirmed that Ben Affleck - who had previously played the Dark Knight in Zack Snyder's films and was originally going to direct the movie that It broke several box-office records and became the highest-grossing 2008 film, the fourth-highest-grossing film of its time, and the highest-grossing superhero film. Caglione Jr used a theatrical makeup technique for the application; he instructed Ledger to scrunch up his face so different cracks and textures were created once the makeup was applied and Ledger relaxed. [310][318] Eckhart described Dent as someone who loves the law but feels constrained by it and his inability to do what he believes is right because the rules he must follow do not allow it. Nico Sy on Instagram: 15th anniversary of The Dark Knight (2008 This made it the second-highest-grossing film of the year behind Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. [303][304] A video game adaptation, Batman: The Dark Knight, was canceled due to development problems. [34][55] He described his interpretation as a "psychopathic, mass-murdering, schizophrenic clown with zero empathy", and avoided humanizing him. Warner Bros. was concerned public knowledge of Dent's character was poor; the campaign included signs, stickers, and "Dentmobiles" visiting U.S. cities to raise his profile. He targets Dent at a fundraising dinner and throws Rachel out of a window, but Batman rescues her. To the Joker's disbelief, the passengers refuse to kill one another. [aq] Stephen Hunter said the Dent character was underwritten and that Eckhart was incapable of portraying the role as intended. [141][142] The unwieldy, wide-tired vehicle could only be ridden by stuntman Jean Pierre Goy after months of training. [at] Genre films such as those based on comic books were also generally ignored by Academy voters. The response was seen as the culmination of several years of criticism toward the Academy ignoring high-performing, broadly popular films. Joker (The Dark Knight [258], Before The Dark Knight's release, film industry discourse focused on Ledger potentially earning an Academy Award nomination at the 81st Academy Awards in 2009, making him only the seventh person to be nominated posthumously, and if the decision would be influenced by his passing or performance. The city mourns Dent as a hero, and the police launch a manhunt for Batman. [310], In The Dark Knight's final act, Batman employs an invasive surveillance network by co-opting the phones of Gotham's citizens to locate the Joker, violating their privacy. This Time, It's Different", "Internet Meme: "Everyone Loses Their Minds" Meme (The Joker; The Dark Knight)", "Everyone Loses Their Minds The Joker Meme", "Empire's 500 Greatest Movies of All Time", "Readers' Poll: The 15 Greatest Superhero Movies", "The Flip Side Of Justice: The Two-faced Spirit Of The Dark Knight", "What Do You Believe In? It was so The Dark Knight's cast includes Eric Roberts, Michael Jai White, and Ritchie Coster as crime bosses Sal Maroni, Gambol, and the Chechen respectively; and Chin Han portrays Lau, a Chinese criminal banker. His testimony enables Dent to apprehend the crime families. The Batman: Everyone Who Played The Dark Knight On The Big As Batman's alter-ego, the billionaire Bruce Wayne, publicly supports Dent as Gotham's legitimate protector, believing his success will allow Batman to retire so Wayne can romantically pursue his childhood friend Rachel Dawes, despite her relationship with Dent. The Joker escapes custody, extracts the fortune's location from Lau, and burns all of it. [ap] Eckhart's performance was generally well received; reviewers praised his portrayal of Dent as charismatic, and the character's subsequent transformation into a sad, bitter "monster", although Variety considered his subplot the film's weakest. [35] They wanted to explore the theme of escalation and the idea that Batman's extraordinary efforts to combat common crimes would lead to an opposing escalation by criminals, attracting the Joker, who uses terrorism as a weapon. Although Gordon saves the mayor, the Joker threatens his attacks will continue until Batman reveals his identity. Jen (The Dark Knight Rises While Christian Bale started out among the youngest Batman actors, he wrapped up the character at 38, the same age as most. [79] Sets were still used for some interiors such as the Bat Bunker, the replacement for the Batcave, on the outskirts of the city. A block in Broadway was closed for the event, which included a live performance of the film score by Howard and Zimmer. WebChristian Bale, who played Batman in The Dark Knight Trilogy (20052012), supported Pattinson, encouraging him to "make [the role] his own" and ignore critics. [261][270][271] The Dark Knight also won an award for Best Sound Editing (King), and received six nominations for Best Art Direction (Crowley and Peter Lando), Best Cinematography (Pfister), Best Film Editing (Smith), Best Makeup (Caglione Jr. and O'Sullivan), Best Sound Mixing (Hirschberg, Rizzo, and Ed Novick), and Best Visual Effects (Davis, Corbould, Webber, and Franklin). The bosses accept the Joker's offer, and he kills high-profile targets involved in the trial, including the judge and police commissioner. Five Things The Dark Knight Did Differently, And Better, Than The Rest", "Academy Expands Best-Picture Pool To 10", "Warner Tests Renting Film On Facebook For Web Cash", "Seven Christopher Nolan Films Heading To 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray", "Warner Bros. Consumer Products Names Mattel Global Toy Licensee For, "New Hot Toys 1/6th Scale Batman Stands 32 Cm Tall With Over 32 Points Of Articulation", "Batman Almost Got An Open-World Game 3 Years Before, "Hollywood Finally Learned The Right Lessons From, "How Many Superheroes Does It Take To Tire A Genre? Influence also came from the 1953 painting Study after Velzquez's Portrait of Pope Innocent X by Francis Baconsuggested by Christopher and the character's comic-book appearances. Played [175][176][184], The Dark Knight broke more records, including for the highest-grossing opening week ($238.6million), and for three-, four-, five-, six-, seven-, eight-, nine-, and ten-day cumulative grosses, including the highest-grossing non-holiday Monday ($24.5million) and non-opening Tuesday ($20.9million, as well as the second-highest-grossing non-opening Wednesday ($18.4million), behind Transformers ($29.1million). Emanuel Levy and Manohla Dargis praised the depiction of the characters as possessing both positive and negative aspects, such as Batman's efforts to end crime provoking unintended consequences and a greater response from criminals; Dargis believed The Dark Knight's exploration of chaos, fear, and death, following the September 11 attacks in 2001, represented "that American movies have entered a new era of ambivalence when it comes to their heroes or maybe just superness. The Joker represents an ideological deviancy; he does not seek personal gain and causes chaos for its own sake, setting a towering pile of cash ablaze to prove "everything burns". Like Huntress, Damian Wayne has a complicated history in the comics, dating back to 1987's Batman: Son of the Demon (Mike W. Barr, Jerry Bingham, and John [r] Warner Bros. was reluctant to endorse the use of the technology because the cameras were large and unwieldy, and purchasing and processing the film stock cost up to four times as much as typical 35mm film. David Wolinsky on Google+ The products discussed here were The Batman: Everyone Who Played The Dark Knight On The Big Screen, Ranked By Mat Elfring and Mason Downey on February 28, 2022 at 12:03PM PST For Ledger died from an accidental drug overdose in January 2008, leading to widespread interest from the press and public regarding his performance. [222][235][239] Reviews generally agreed the Joker was the best-written character, and that Ledger commanded scenes from the entire cast to create one of the most mesmerizing cinematic villains. Batman in the Dark Knight [al], Ledger's performance received near-unanimous praise with the caveat that his death made the role both highly-anticipated and difficult to watch. is among the film's most famous and oft-quoted pieces of dialog,[bo] alongside "everyone loses their minds," and Dent's line "you either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain", as well as Pennyworth's line "some men just want to watch the world burn". Predictions placed its opening-weekend take above that of Iron Man's $102.1million but below that of Spider-Man 3's (2007) record $151.1million. The Dark Knight was the first major motion picture to be filmed with high-resolution IMAX cameras. WebBatman Portrayed by: Aaron Eckhart Appearances: The Dark Knight The Dark Knight Rises (archive footage and picture only) "It's not about what I want, it's about what's fair! [302], A direct-to-DVD animated film, Batman: Gotham Knight, was released in July 2008. [179][194][195] The film was playing in fewer than 100 theaters when it received a 300-theater relaunch in late January 2009 to raise its profile during nominations for the 81st Academy Awards. While the police evacuate hospitals and Gordon struggles to keep Reese alive, the Joker meets with a disillusioned Dent, persuading him to take justice into his own hands and avenge Rachel. [aw] In 2011, it also became the first major-studio film to be released for rent via digital distribution on Facebook. David Wolinsky on Google+ The products discussed here were independently chosen by our editors. [122], The final nine days of production took place in Hong Kong and included aerial footage from atop the International Finance Centre, as well as filming at Central to Mid-Levels escalator, The Center, Central, The Peninsula Hong Kong, and Queen's Road; and a stunt involving Batman catching an in-flight C-130 aircraft. [81][117] After moving from Chicago in May, scenes filmed in the UK also include Criterion Restaurant, where Rachel, Dent, and Wayne share dinner, and a Gotham News scene that was filmed at the University of Westminster. [35] Christopher described The Dark Knight as representative of his own "fear of anarchy" and Joker represents an "somebody who wants to just tear down the world around him. [324] Christopher described the Joker as an unadulterated evil, and professor Charles Bellinger considered him a satanic figure who repels people from goodness and tempts them with things they supposedly lack, such as forcing Batman to choose between saving Dentwho is best for the cityand Rachel, who is best for Wayne. ", "The Joker Has Always Been A Controversial Character. [78] Christopher wanted to exchange the more natural, scenic settings of Batman Begins such as the Himalayas and caverns for a modern, structured environment the Joker could disassemble. [154][156], Zimmer wanted to use a single note for the Joker's theme; he said, "imagine one note that starts off slightly agitated and then goes to serious aggravation and finally rips your head off at the end". In 2012, Tom Hardy's metamorphosis into Gotham juggernaut Bane was the stuff of legend. [101][110], The Dark Knight includes Chicago locations such as Lake Michigan, which doubled as the Caribbean Sea where Wayne boards a seaplane;[107] Richard J. Daley Center (Wayne Enterprises exteriors and a courtroom);[101][111] The Berghoff restaurant (GCPD arresting mobsters);[101] Twin Anchors restaurant; the Sound Bar; McCormick Place (Wayne Enterprises interiors); and Chicago Theatre. Christopher had deliberately obscured combat in the previous film because it was intended to portray Batman from the criminals' point of view. Dent represents goodness and hope; he is the city's "white knight" who is "pure" of intent and can operate within the law. [311][328] McGowan considered the act heroic because Batman's sacrifice will leave him hunted and despised without recognition, indicating he has learned from the Joker the established norms must sometimes be broken. [339][340][341] U.S. President Barack Obama used Joker to explain the growth of Islamic State (IS) military group, saying " the gang leaders of Gotham are meeting they were thugs, but there was a kind of order the Joker comes in and lights the whole city on fire. [267][268][269] Even so, Ledger was considered a favorite to earn the award based on praise from critic groups and his posthumous Golden Globe award. [ah] On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 94% approval rating from the aggregated reviews of 345 critics, with an average score of 8.6/10. "[342] Joker's appearance became a popular Halloween costume and also influenced the 2009 Barack Obama "Joker" poster. He could not make it work, however, and used two notes with alternating tempos and a "punk" influence. Since its release, The Dark Knight has been assessed as one of the greatest superhero films ever made, one of the best films of the 2000s, and one of the best films ever made. The Nolans identified the traits common to his media incarnations and were influenced by the character's comic-book appearances as well as the villain Dr. Mabuse from the films of Fritz Lang. You thought we could be decent men in an indecent time. [253][254][255] At the 14th Empire Awards, The Dark Knight received awards for Best Film, Best Director (Christopher Nolan), and Best Actor (Bale). WebThe Dark Knight (2008) Aaron Eckhart: Harvey Dent Showing all 76 items Jump to: Photos (46) Quotes (30) Photos 23 more photos Quotes Harvey Dent : [while having a fancy WebThe Dark Knight Rises With their appearances in this movie, Christian Bale, Sir Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Cillian Murphy, and Gary Oldman have each appeared in three Batman movies. The Batman (film) - Wikipedia Costing $7.5million, the 1,213-foot (370m) long attraction places riders in an imitation of Wayne Central Station in Gotham City as they move through areas that are vandalized or controlled by the Joker. [35][41] Jonathan found the "poignant" ending the script's most interesting aspect; it had always depicted Batman fleeing from police but was changed from him leaping across rooftops to escaping on the Batpod, his motorcycle-like vehicle. [277][285][329] Some publications said studios took the wrong lessons from The Dark Knight, treating source material too seriously and mistaking a dark, gritty tone for narrative depth and intelligent writing. Oscars Snub Dark Knight For Top Awards", "How Much Has Changed Since Oscar Expanded Best Picture Nominations? [123][124] The 127-day shoot concluded on November 15, on time and under budget.