Broken Frontier

Fans are abuzz about The Dark Knight, and Warner Bros. is making it easy to see why. After keeping fans in suspense for weeks with a short teaser trailer that filled everyone’s ears upon hearing the first sounds of The Joker’s maniacal laughter, Warner finally released the full trailer. The film appears to be action packed, with plenty of surprises. But if you think Warner was finished with all of the Bat-Fans out there, you are sorely mistaken. A seven minute prologue was put in front of certain IMAX releases of I Am Legend, which is meant to introduce the world to Heath Ledger’s take on The Joker.

Between the trailer and the prologue, fans are finally getting an eagerly awaited look at The Joker, which after the untimely death of actor Heath Ledger, is reminding everyone of the incredible ability the actor brought to the character.

Many out there were caught off guard by the announcement that Ledger would be taking over the role, which has been brought to life by such legendary actors as Jack Nicholson in Tim Burton’s adaptation, and Mark Hamill, who gave The Joker a voice in  his animated incarnations since the early 90s.

One major rumor out there is that director Christopher Nolan had intended to let The Joker live at the end of the film, which would lead to his appearance in possible sequels. This has not been confirmed, nor has there been any statement about what affects Ledger’s death will have on this or any future Batman films. One thing is certain. Heath Ledger’s death has saddened both long-time fans, and those who may have just come to know the actor through his final role in The Dark Knight.

Ledger succeeded in making the role his own, and gives us a completely different take on The Joker than we have seen before. One main difference between this Joker and ones of the past is the lack of an origin. The buzz flying around the net so far states that Nolan has decided not to reveal where The Joker came from or who he really is. What we do know is that he paints his face, and appears not to have taken the legendary chemical bath that gave him his trademark ivory complexion, ruby red lips and leafy green hair. As for The Joker’s trademark smile, Ledger’s Joker has two scars protruding from the corners of his mouth that make sure he maintains his gleeful look. Ledger was also said to have portrayed the character as a creature of pure evil, ignoring the past incarnations which relied heavily on the humor of the character.

Overall, fans seem pleased with the prologue and the trailer, which is jam-packed with lots of shooting, explosions, backstabbing and a little humor. Basically everything you would expect from a movie featuring the one and only Clown Prince of Crime. Two of the main sources cited for this film were the graphic novels The Man who Laughs and The Killing Joke, which has many hardcore Joker fans excited, and has caused both books to see a lot more action on the market.

In addition to the trailer and prologue, Warner has launched an unrelenting online campaign that has been keeping fans hungry and chomping at the bit for even the slightest clue or tidbit of info. One of the most ambitious tasks had fans taking pictures of themselves dressed up as The Joker in front of famous landmarks around their town, after which anyone that submitted their picture was awarded with a copy of The Gotham Times delivered right to their door.

The paper included articles about Batman and Harvey Dent, but also a classified listing by a certain “charming, handsome man with [a] dazzling smile” looking for like-minded criminals. From this, fans were able to respond to the classified ad through email and were led to yet another website which is loaded with even more clues to unlock, making sure even the most tenacious Batman fan doesn’t have time to rest in his quest to be the first to post a new secret.

One thing that has also spawned a lot of fan chatter is what role Harvey Dent will play in The Dark Knight. It is no secret to fans that Harvey will eventually become Two-Face, but no one seems to know how or when this will occur in the film. So far, rumors state that it may actually be The Joker that is responsible for giving Harvey his face lift, but both Nolan and Warner Bros. are staying tight-lipped. More people seem to think that we will not see Two-Face’s face… er… faces until the end of the film. The internet is still showing their support for Mr. Dent though, with official sites and fan sites popping up all over the World Wide Web.

But enough about the villains, what about Batman himself? It appears that Batman has beefed up his uniform in between films and added something new to his arsenal: the Batcycle. Batman’s two-wheel ride can be seen throughout the trailer and seems to borrow a lot from Batman’s heavily armored Batmobile, which has become a fan favorite out of all of the different Batmobiles that have graced the big and small screens over the years.

Rumors floating around the net also seem to be saying that Nolan was not satisfied with how sane Batman appeared in the last film, so he is cranking it up a notch. Nolan seems to be taking a page from The Killing Joke and making it seem as though Batman and The Joker are two sides of the same coin. Both are insane in their own ways, but one stands for order the other for chaos.

With all of the viral marketing Warner Bros. is sinking into this film, it is sure to have fans lining up around the block. Warner has definitely been putting a lot of muscle behind this movie and generating a lot of excitement in the fan community. Warner may have to change their plan of attack though. With Ledger’s death and Warner’s use of The Joker playing a major part in the advertising campaign, it remains unclear if Warner will continue to push the film using Ledger’s likeness. But no matter what Warner decides to do, with Batman Begins reigniting the fire in a nearly dead franchise one thing is for sure, Warner has definitely made sure that the fire is in no danger of being extinguished, and is making sure fans will be filling seats fast when the film is released on July 18th.

Editor’s note: Earlier this week, Heath Ledger’s death was ruled accidental by the New York City medical examiner. He died of an accidental overdose of painkillers, sleeping pills, anti-anxiety medication and other prescription drugs.