Fans Move That The Joker Be Retired in Honor of Heath Ledger

Posted by Paige MacGregor (paige@filmschoolrejects.com) on February 10, 2009

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Fans are calling for Heath Ledger’s rendition of The Joker in Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster bash The Dark Knight to be acknowledged as the pinnacle of the character’s representation on film. But these fans won’t be satisfied with a posthumous Oscar; a petition placed on The Ultimate Joker, a Web site started by two dedicated fans, Fer Barbella and Nico Pimentel, is asking the film industry to refrain from recasting the role… forever. One of the site’s creators who spoke with the staff of Wired magazine via e-mail made the following comments:

“We truly believe Ledger’s performance as Joker is the best an actor could ever do,” the site’s team leader, Fer Barbella, told Wired.com. “Any other performance will be below expectations for sure, so we want to forever keep Ledger’s Joker as the one,” added Barbella, who launched The Ultimate Joker site last week.

Perhaps the fans at The Ultimate Joker are right—maybe there are those unique moments when the perfect mix of talent, determination, and material coalesce into a shining example of what it means to really bring a character to life; and with Ledger’s untimely passing, which many suggest was an indirect result of the intense process he underwent in order to transform into the white-faced psychopath, calls to immortalize his highly acclaimed performance as The Joker are understandably intensified.

But film is not baseball. The film industry does not “retire” a character the same way a team retires a player’s number. The way the industry at large shows respect to actors is well established: posthumous awards, film dedications, plaques, memorial services, lifetime achievement awards… Calls by Ledger’s fans to “retire” the character of The Joker from film (the petition does not include television or animated representations) are calls for something that, while it would be an unprecedented honor for the late Mr. Ledger, might also represent a limitation placed on the creativity that the medium of film was founded on.

The fact that we can’t imagine a better portrayal of The Joker on film, having now witnessed Ledger’s, does not mean that another actor would not come along who could present what some might view as a better portrayal. The fact that I could not imagine a better portrayal of Batman than Michael Keaton certainly didn’t stop Christian Bale from blowing Keaton’s sullen caped crusader right out of the water with his own take on The Batman only sixteen years later, for example.

That said, the propriety of The Ultimate Joker’s calls for the retirement of The Joker from film is up to you to decide. Even if you disagree with the site’s goals, we highly recommend browsing the amazing collection of quotes, interviews, fan videos, photos and other interesting information that The Ultimate Joker has compiled.

Do you think that The Joker should be retired from movies?


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  • I think that this is pretty stupid. Joker isn't an original character. He's not Ash from Evil Dead or Indiana Jones. He's already been played by many. Stuff like this makes me think that The Dark Knight has more in common with Titanic than just money - all of its major fans are 14 year old zombies.
  • yeah, TDK fanboys are dumb as hell. and annoying, too
  • it's a new breed of TDK purest who will automatically hate anything that isn't from that movie... someone like Michael Pitt could pull off the role if given the chance..yes Robert I still think it's possible the studio and Nolan will recast...if we didn't allow actors the chance to revive a character we wouldn't have Ledger's performance to even be talking about...
  • They are going to have to build a time machine to make sure that Ledger's Joker is "The One," considering that he's, what, the 6th person to play the Joker.
  • Look, I think NOBODY should play the Joker for a few years, because nobody can live up to Heath's performance, but in 10, 15, 20 years, maybe someone else will put on an amazing performance.
  • what about someone using Heath's performance as an influence? it would be still keeping with what he started..I think carrying on the "character" he created is a better way of remembering him
  • joshi38
    Once upon a time people thought Jack Nicholson was the best there would be... and then Mark Hamill (and I still say Hamill's performance is among the best Joker performances). now Ledger.

    There's no doubt it was a great performance, but the thing is, Ledger took the character and made it his own, he didn't play it like someone else did, he gave an amazing performance of someone who wasn't quite ticking along with the rest of the world, but it was different from what we've seen before.

    Now, if someone else were to come along and try to emulate that performance, then yes, it won't be better than Ledger and won't be worth it, but if a talented actor came along and, like Ledger, took the character and made it his own, gave a new take on the character, I see no reason why it wouldn't be good enough. I believe someone working on TDK had said that Nolan wouldn't let Heath's death mess with any story they might have wanted to do with the Joker later on and that one has to separate the actor from the character and that's precisely what should be done.

    I'm sorry, I miss Ledger, he was a great actor, and he gave a really great performance as the Joker, but the Joker isn't his character. The Joker had been around long before he was even an actor, he's been played by so many people before and should be played by so many people after. He is so ingrained in our consciousness now, it's not right that the film character should die along with Heath.

    Think of it this way, had Heath not died, and they'd put him in the next movie, and maybe even one after that... would anyone, anywhere be asking for the Joker to be retired because it's "the best performance"? No, you're only doing this because Heath died and that's wrong. People aren't even giving other actors a chance here. Heath Ledger wasn't the be all, end all of acting, there are other people out there just as talented if not more talented than Heath was and by saying no one would ever be able to do better than him simply means you're a closed minded fanboy.

    /rant
  • I agree, I thought M.Keaton was stiff as Batman but good for the time. But Jack being Jack, blew me away. Prince's soundtrack was pivital to Jack's performance. Every bad guy needs his own soundtrack.

    If Heath had not passed away, he would have taken the performance through the roof. But Jack eluded to something the role does to the sole. He indicted he almost bought the farm late one night while driving. After getting off his high horse, Jack wanted to reach out to Heath about this, or so he says. The same goes for any role brought from comic book to the big screen.

    That's why they call it acting, you want to see who can perform/improve the character from the last actor.
  • MeAtPoPsIcLe
    His Joker was amazing but It should never be retired. I think that the very idea of that is insulting a little bit to the memory of heath Ledger. If We did that when Mark Hamill voiced the Joker Heath would be without one of the best movie villains of all time. I think if you realy want to honor his performance you keep on keepin on, recast and have the new actor do what he does in his way. I agree that if they recast and had them try to mimic what heath did, it wouldnt work and everyone would be totally bumbed but to never have the joker on screen again just makes me sad.
  • Somehow I do feel the same way as the Fanboys above and some what not agreeing all the way. Joker is a charcter of DC and can be played by many. Heath Ledger's performance was over the top and cannot be compared or played by none other than Heath. I do believe someone will be recasted and will take on the role someday in my opinion that will make the character live longer. Joker is the Big Major role in the Batman History if we took the scene that Heath acted out in the interogation room Batman is the only one he can relate and will always make him be the way he is. No one will ever be compared to Heath and how he perfected the characters maniacal, sick, and twisted mind but yet smart, Heath will be forever be missed and his legacy will continue.
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