Heath Ledger loved playing The Joker in The Dark Knight and wanted to play him again in a sequel movie, his sister has said.
The actor died on January 22, 2008 from the accidental intoxication of prescription drugs, six months before the release of the Batman movie that would see him be posthumously awarded the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.
Heath’s sister Kate told news.com.au that had he lived, her brother had every intention of working with director Christopher Nolan and Batman actor Christian Bale on another film in the franchise.
“He was so proud of what he had done in Batman,” Kate said last year ahead of the I Am Heath Ledger documentary.
The interview has been recirculating in recent days around the tenth anniversary of the actor’s death.
“And I know he had plans for another Batman. He loved working with Chris Nolan and Christian Bale and Gary Oldman. He just had the best time ever doing that film.
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“When he came home at Christmas he couldn’t wait to tell us all about it and he was doing the voice and laughing, showing me all the rushes. We had a great time.”
She denied that the role had made him depressed, adding: “He was a really happy person and he had huge plans for his future.
“I spoke to him the night before [he died] and we were laughing and joking.”
After Ledger’s death, Christopher Nolan completed the trilogy he had begun with 2005’s Batman Begins with 2012’s The Dark Knight Rises, which did not include The Joker but featured Tom Hardy’s Bane as its lead villain.
Following the completion of Nolan’s trilogy, Batman returned to the big screen in 2016’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, with Ben Affleck as Bruce Wayne/Batman.
The Joker returned, now played by Jared Leto, in the same year’s Suicide Squad.