The Dark Knight

[picolas]

i truly don't understand replacing her because she married tom cruise. her performance wasn't so bad she needed to be replaced either. is there a reason i'm missing?

[Derek]

i truly don't understand replacing her because she married tom cruise. her performance wasn't so bad she needed to be replaced either. is there a reason i'm missing?

Maybe it was her choice??

It'll be interesting to see how quickly The Dark Knight picks up after Batman Begins. You'd think that Batman would try and track down the Joker immediately after being aware of him. But maybe they'll have some sort of prior history established before the movie takes place?

[Gold Trumpet]

Latino Review says, "Maggie Gyllenhaal will be the new Rachel Dawes!"

They sound confident. They had two sources. I'm happy with the choice.

Katie Holmes wasn't bad. She just wasn't very popular. Even people outside caring about her public controversy, like my dad, found her annoying in the movie.

[polkablues]

Katie wasn't bad, she was just wildly miscast.  Gyllenhall's still a weird choice, but at least you get the sense from her that she could have made it through law school.

[Pubrick]

Gyllenhall's still a weird choice, but at least you get the sense from her that she could have made it through law school.

plus she looks like a cat. so there's that.

[MacGuffin]

Eckhart joining 'Dark Knight' cast
Source: Hollywood Reporter

Aaron Eckhart is in final negotiations to play Harvey Dent/Two Face in "The Dark Knight," Warner Bros. Pictures' sequel to "Batman Begins."

In Batman lore, Dent is the district attorney of Gotham City and an ally of Batman. After half his face is disfigured by acid, Dent becomes the insane crime boss known as Two Face. He chooses to do good or evil by flipping a coin. Tommy Lee Jones played the character in 1995's "Batman Forever."

"Knight" sees Christopher Nolan back in the director's chair with Christian Bale reprising his role as Bruce Wayne/Batman. Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine and Gary Oldman are also returning. Heath Ledger joined the cast last summer, signing up to play the sardonic and murderous villain the Joker.

The script was written by Nolan's brother, Jonathan, from a story by Christopher Nolan and David Goyer. Producing are Emma Thomas, Charles Roven and Christopher Nolan.

Eckhart is riding high these days thanks to his acclaimed performance in "Thank You for Smoking," which nabbed him Golden Globe and Spirit Award nominations. He next stars opposite Catherine Zeta-Jones in "No Reservations," the U.S. remake of the 2001 German feature "Mostly Martha." The film will be released by Warners in July. He is also starring in the "Untitled Alan Ball Project," Ball's directorial debut.

[Derek]

Gyllenhall's still a weird choice, but at least you get the sense from her that she could have made it through law school.

plus she looks like a cat. so there's that.

I think she looks like a St. Bernard.

[Derek]

Looks like all the sites are confirming Eckhart as Dent now, too.

[polkablues]

Gyllenhall's still a weird choice, but at least you get the sense from her that she could have made it through law school.

plus she looks like a cat. so there's that.

I think she looks like a St. Bernard.

Let's compare:

= ?

or

= ?


But at least there's one thing that's for certain:

= .

[MacGuffin]

Batman Villain Two-Face Speaks: Eckhart Reveals 'Dark Knight' Details
Will Two-Face show his bad side in 'The Dark Knight'? Bruce Wayne's frienemy may have said too much.
Source: MTV

SANTA MONICA, California — Two-Face may have a horribly scarred visage, but recently confirmed star Aaron Eckhart was all smiles as he discussed his plans for Harvey Dent in "The Dark Knight," Christopher Nolan's sequel to the hit "Batman Begins."

"I am excited. Christopher Nolan is an amazing director," Eckhart told MTV News. "It's another movie that's a dream come true."

Most villains have a hidden alter ego — Harvey Dent sports his in plain view as the twisted and deformed Two-Face, enemy to Batman and terror of Gotham City.

Gotham City's youngest-ever district attorney, Harvey Dent, is permanently scarred when a criminal throws sulfuric acid in his face, resulting in a burn that leaves the entire left side of his body mutilated beyond repair.

Unable to cope with his deformity, Dent's long-repressed anger surfaces, creating a split personality and a battle for his overall instincts. On one side lies the good Harvey Dent, friend to Bruce Wayne. On the other, Two-Face, master criminal and enemy to Batman. Tommy Lee Jones most recently portrayed the villain in 1995's "Batman Forever."

According to Eckhart, it's a dichotomy and depth of character that matches Bruce Wayne's own transformation from millionaire playboy to crime-fighting vigilante.

"Batman is a complex character, and Two-Face comes a little bit from the same world," Eckhart insisted. "But [at the same time] he's apart from it."

Eckhart reported that the key to playing Two-Face, then, is finding specifically how he mirrors — and where he differs — from the Caped Crusader.

"I'm looking for the tension between the two, the similarities between the two," Eckhart said of his portrayal. "I want to find what's similar to Batman and then find what's opposite to him."

Two-Face flips a coin to decide how he's going to act. But will Eckhart even get the chance? Rumors persist that Eckhart's role as Dent will set him up as the main villain in the series' third installment, with his disfigurement coming toward the end of the second film.

Is Eckhart exclusively Harvey Dent in "The Dark Knight"?

"Yeah," Eckhart said, before reconsidering after a brief pause, "Well, I'm Harvey Dent ... then I go into Harvey Two-Face."

And what of speculation that, in this new installment, it's going to be the Joker (played by Heath Ledger) who scars the eager district attorney?

"I think I'll be killed [if I comment on that] — I'm not even sure I can say as much as I have," Eckhart joked as a wicked, Dent-ian smile broke across his face. "There are snipers looking at me right now!

"I'm looking forward to going to London and Chicago to shoot [the film]," the "Thank You for Smoking" star added.

Fans will have a long time to look forward to Eckhart's portrayal — "The Dark Knight" opens in the summer of 2008.

[MacGuffin]

Gyllenhaal joining Batman sequel
Actress taking Holmes role in 'Dark Knight'
Source: Variety

Maggie Gyllenhaal is in final talks to star opposite Christian Bale in Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight," the next installment in the revitalized Batman franchise. She'll play the role of Rachel Dawes, played by Katie Holmes in "Batman Begins." Holmes dropped out of the project earlier in the year.

Nolan is set to begin lensing in the late spring or early summer. Pic is eying a summer 2008 release.

Producers are Emma Thomas, Charles Roven and Nolan.

Legendary Pictures and Warner are co-financing partners on the project.

Gyllenhaal, a new mother, was most recently in theaters with "Stranger Than Fiction" and "World Trade Center."

[Kal]

I dont like that... she is a terrific actress and pretty... but she is not as hot as maybe Michele Pfeiffer, Nicole Kidman, Uma Thurman or Kim Bassinger, who have played the Batman-girl role.

I trust Nolan so lets see... for a second I thought it was Jake Gyllenhaal... which would have been great but also would start a millions of Brokeback discussions everywhere.

[modage]

ok well rachel is back. 

it's good because, it gets really old having to invent a new love interest every film, it's not james bond.  if we can avoid julie madison and dr. chase meridian, that will be just great.  i like maggie, i'm sort of interested to see how she works with this cast and bale in particular and in a film with this tone so fingers crossed. 

but this is bad because i'm really not sure where they can go with her character and this relationship.  like i said, i hope its tragic because she's aware that he's batman and now what?  it's also bad because even though katie holmes was snoozeville, she wasnt horrible and i'd almost rather have her back than recast the role because i HATE messing up the continuity in a series like this!  FUCK. 

[polkablues]

She has to die.  Not because I don't like Gyllenhaal (because I do), but for there to be any dramatic satisfaction out of that character, she has to die.  Somewhere around the midpoint would be fine.

[MacGuffin]

Who's That Joker?
Rumors about the Clown Prince's look in Dark Knight.

With The Dark Knight reportedly set to begin filming in London shortly, it won't be long before Heath Ledger finally steps before cameras as the new Joker. But what the Oscar-nominated Aussie will look like as the Clown Prince of Crime has been one of the big questions that fans have been wondering about. Now there are a few rumors online about what that look may be.

Although they later updated their initial report to emphasize that this is not the final design, Batman-on-Film.com has been informed by a scooper that Ledger's Joker "will have gray skin with lots of scarring."

Furthermore, Joker will reportedly wear "raggedy" garb, which jives with earlier rumors that his outfit will be more like something he's thrown together than a costume per se.

Director Christopher Nolan is said to be going for a "scary" Joker rather than a clownish one, which would be in line with the realistic approach he took with villains Ra's Al Ghul and The Scarecrow in Batman Begins.

BoF adds that Warner Bros. will likely release an official image of Ledger as The Joker this summer to ward off spy snapshots from leaking out.