The Dark Knight co-writer David Goyer has revealed that Warner Bros wanted an origin story for the Joker in the 2008 film.
The Dark Knight is considered to be one of the greatest superhero films ever made. At the time of its release, it became the highest-grossing superhero film of all time and received many Oscar nominations and a few wins, including a posthumous Best Supporting Actor award for Joker star Heath Ledger. Once upon a time, however, Heath Ledger may have played a very different version of the Joker in the film.
Part of what made the Joker so compelling in The Dark Knight was the fact that we were never entirely sure what his backstory was. He frequently changed his story regarding how he got the scars on his face and one seemed to be sure where he came from or who he was. This made him far different from previous incarnations that often explained his backstory thoroughly with Tim Burton’s 1989 film, Batman making it part of Batman’s origin story. But, as it turns out, this was something that David Goyer and his fellow writers got a lot of push back on.
While speaking to Comicbook.com David Goyer revealed that Warner Bros wasn’t all that up for the idea that the Joker’s backstory was a mystory despite the success of their previous film, Batman Begins:
“I do remember when we were talking about, ‘Well, what if the Joker doesn’t really have an origin story? Even after the success of Batman Begins, that was considered a very controversial thing, and we got a lot of push-back. People were worried.”
You can see the full interview with David Goyer below:
What do you all make of David Goyer’s words? Are you surprised to learn that Warner Bros wanted an origin story of Heath Ledger’s Joker? Let us know what you think in the comments below!
Directed by Christopher Nolan and released in 2008, The Dark Knight stars Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Heath Ledger, Gary Oldman, Aaron Eckhart, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Morgan Freeman. The film is available now on Digital HD, 4K, Blu-Ray, and DVD.
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Source: YouTube
