This summer is shaping up to be the BIGGEST comic book showdown in history.

I don’t know if any of you have thought about it, but there are SIX movies releasing this summer based on comic books. That’s more than any other summer, EVER!

It’s a wonder they’re all going to make money (because they will!)…!

“It’s not a fad,” Marvel Studios president of production Kevin Feige said. “It’s the new archetype for the summer blockbuster. Everybody loves special effects, everybody loves epic entertainment, and that’s what comics have been delivering for decades and decades.”

“If they were all about a guy who runs into an alley and changed into a costume or into a phone booth to put on a mask,” he continues, “they would have come and gone in a year or two.”

Interesting!

Which do YOU think is going to make the most money?

IRON MAN - May 2
THE INCREDIBLE HULK - June 13
WANTED - June 27
HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY - July 11
THE DARK KNIGHT - July 18
PUNISHER: WAR ZONE - September 12

My money’s on The Dark Knight… Batman Begins scored with $205 million, and TDK is expected to make upwards of $280 million. I’d wager that it’ll hit $300 mil. Don’t underestimate the power of Heath’s last completed performance!

The Joker is up to his old tricks again! A new Dark Knight trailer was recently shown to 300 die hard Batman fans in 12 cities across the country. One person from each event was given a special 35mm version of the trailer as a special treat. However, when they finally got the trailers up and running, they realized that the videos had been tampered with…

Video is a little bad, but make it fullscreen if you need to!

Why so serious?!

Yesterday we heard that a scene involving The Joker playing dead in a body bag may be cut from The Dark Knight as a few people from some secret screenings were not happy as it mirrored real life events. Thankfully, Moviehole got news that The Dark Knight will remain intact.

A source close to the “The Dark Knight” told us this morning that the film remains intact – and nothing of Ledger’s will be cut from the movie, including the body-bag scene. ‘’I KNOW for a fact that that scene is in the film. I also know that WB has made no such mandate and that Chris [Nolan] is honest when saying that he will not change what was intended with The Joker.”

This is good news! Bring on July!

I hate it when outside interferences change what I see on the big screen, so I guess I will end up hating this if it is true. According to CinemaBlend, The Dark Knight has been secretly shown to audiences and according to their tipster, some members of the audience were not happy with one particular scene.

The scene involves Ledger’s Joker character pretending to be dead and being pictured in a body bag. Apparently the aftershock of Ledger’s unfortunate death are such that many in the screening reacted rather badly to this moment and now execs are considering excising the scene altogether.

I can remember it just as if it were yesterday. There were images on the news showing Heath Ledger being brought out in a body bag. It wasn’t very pleasant, but it is what happened. I don’t want Warner Brothers to get rid of the scene, because the scene is obviously there for a reason. Christopher Nolan has created this character, and has imagine what kind of antics The Joker should get up to. The Joker is sick and twisted and pretending to be dead in a body bag would be what he would do. Why should things change just because people can’t accept reality and find it hard to realise it is just a movie?

The good news is that The Dark Knight will probably be better than Batman Begins, and Batman Begins was one of the best comic book movies ever made. It is also likely that Heath Ledger’s portrayal as The Joker will be amazing, with out without pretending to be dead in a body bag.

The New York Times sat down with Christopher Nolan and a few other people involved with The Dark Knight, and talked a bit about the movie. The discussions involved Nolan’s view on the film, the death of Heath Ledger and we also get a few spoilers along the way. There are a couple of other interesting bits. Apparently Warner Brothers tried to get Nolan to direct Troy, which Wolfgang Petersen ended up directing. That would have been something to watch, however I’m glad he ended up doing Batman Begins. You can read the whole article by clicking here, however beware of spoilers!

The article is accompanied by some new images, which you can see below.

Since the death of Heath Ledger over a month ago, marketing for The Dark Knight has been rather quiet, which was expected. However, I hope it doesn’t last too long as I’m sure the fans are anticipating the next viral website to pop up with clues to chase and new images to find. Note to Warner Bros: After you have finished merging with companies, slowly start some marketing for The Dark Knight again please. Thanks!

Anyway, actor Aaron Eckhart spoke to MTV Movies Blog about a couple of things, while not giving too much away.

On similarities between Batman and Two-Face:

“Well, they’re both crime fighters,” he said. “They both care about law and order. They both care about Gotham City. Although they come from different backgrounds, they share certain things. Pausing, he added, “[Things that] I cannot tell you about.”

On Batman’s female friend Rachel Dawes:

“I can’t comment on anything. I’m sorry. You gotta ask, but literally, if I ever want to work in this town again, I cannot say anything to you,” he teased, smiling. “[Chris Nolan] is a good man, but he’s a tough man.”

On working with Heath Ledger:

Eckhart says there can be no debate – Ledger’s work will “blow [you] away.”

“I had a wonderful time working with Heath. I had the chance to watch him shine in this movie,” Eckhart said. “I am glad that I was able to be in the same room and watch him work.”

Over the past week or so there have been many people expressing their sadness about Heath Ledger’s passing. Nicole Kidman, John Travolta and Mary Kate Olsen have all released statements regarding Heath’s Death. Jack Nicholson told everyone that he had ‘warned him’ and Daniel Day Lewis nearly shed a few tears on TV, even though he said he had never met Ledger. So imagine knowing Heath well, and having to see him every single day for the next few months. That is what Christopher Nolan has to do as he is editing The Dark Knight. Rather than releasing a statement that says the usual, he had written an great article on Heath.

When you get into the edit suite after shooting a movie, you feel a responsibility to an actor who has trusted you, and Heath gave us everything. As we started my cut, I would wonder about each take we chose, each trim we made. I would visualize the screening where we’d have to show him the finished film—sitting three or four rows behind him, watching the movements of his head for clues to what he was thinking about what we’d done with all that he’d given us. Now that screening will never be real. I see him every day in my edit suite. I study his face, his voice. And I miss him terribly.

You can read the whole article here.

Warner Brothers have had a lot to think about this week. Heath Ledger died. He was one of the stars of their summer film The Dark Knight. The whole marketing so far has been something to do with The Joker, whether it be writing messages in the sky at events or appearing on viral sites for the movie. The fans were getting excited, playing the games, until it was brought straight back into reality. I imagine Warner Bros had other ideas up their sleeves, that may be changed, or simply delayed. I think they have done the right thing, acknowledging Heath’s death and probably keeping quiet for a while. Wait a month or so and start with the marketing again. The website for The Dark Knight has been changed. You can check it out here or below.

Most people know about another film Heath was involved in, called The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus. Reports suggested that the film had shut down, however now there are rumours that a certain Johnny Depp may replace him.

A source said: “There is a point in the film when Heath falls through a magic mirror. He could change into another character after that and that is where Johnny would come in.

“It’s a weird, fantasy, time-travel movie so Heath’s character could easily change appearance. It would be a poignant moment. Johnny’s not working at the moment so everyone is praying he will do it.”

My RSS FeedReader popped up ‘Head Ledger Found Death’. For a brief second I thought it was another viral campaign, until I actually saw that the news came from IESB, then SuperHero Hype, BBC News and Cinematical. Then it actually sunk in. The first feeling was shock. Hollywood stars don’t die like this. Nobody saw it coming. It is now all over the internet, all over the TV, it will be in the newspapers tomorrow morning. <!–More–>

Harry over at AICN has posted his story minutes, even seconds after him hearing the news, you can feel it in his post. I waited a while for it to sink in before posting rants or getting caught up in all of the shock. Here are the basics:

• He was found around 3:35
• He had arranged for a massage and the masseuse knocked on the door, with no reply.
• When no one answered, the housekeeper and the masseuse opened the bedroom and found Mr. Ledger naked and unconscious on a bed, with pills scattered around his body. They shook him, but he did not respond. They immediately called the authorities.
• Police are investigating the possibility of an overdose

This is truly sad news. However, sometimes people do have problems and issues, even if they aren’t paraded in magazines every week. This is either suicide or an accidental overdose, as they can sometimes happen.

Ledger had been filming The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, whether he had completed his filming or still had more to come is currently unknown. Whatever the case is, he is still The Joker in The Dark Knight. I highly doubt that this is the type of publicity Warner Brothers want for The Dark Knight, however some things in life cannot be controlled. I have a feeling that The Dark Knight will be seen by more people, much more than it could have previously, due to this event.

Last year Ledger split from Michelle Williams, who he met on the set of Brokeback Mountain. He leaves behind a daughter aged 2.

Update: This is apparently the one of the last images taken of Heath. It was taken in London on Saturday, while filming The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

Update: Warner Bros have released a statement

“The studio is stunned and devastated by this tragic news. The entertainment community has lost an enormous talent. Heath was a brilliant actor and an exceptional person. Our hearts go out to his family and friends.”

Update: Heath Ledger recently gave an interview to WJW FOX in Cleveland where he said, “I feel good about dying because I feel alive through her.” He was talking about his young daughter Matilda.

Update: Heath’s death was accidental…what a waste..

Those wonderful folks over at UGO.com have gotten an early Christmas present.

They have seen The Dark Knight prequel that will be shown before I Am Legend in a few short weeks in IMAX theaters. The prequel is actually the first six minutes of the film itself, but Nolan shot it as a stand alone ’short film’ exclusively for this purpose.

Less talk from me, more reading about what they saw:

Heath Ledger’s Joker is THE definitive Joker.
A bank heist is really the only way to introduce the Clown Prince of Crime.

It starts off with a breathtaking shot of Gotham City in broad daylight. The camera swoops into this big glass skyscraper the way only an IMAX movie can. It was stunning. Then BOOM! One of the windows in this big glass skyscraper is blown out. It then cut to two thugs in ugly clown masks (the ones we saw in the first publicity stills that were released months ago) shooting a zip line down to an adjacent rooftop.

Cut to the street as we see another thug waiting on a street corner with his clown mask in his hand. We’re looking at him from behind and can’t see his face. A van pulls up and the thug puts on his mask and jumps in to join the rest of the clowns. The clown who’s driving is bitching about how this Joker guy who planned the heist didn’t even bother to show up and questions why they should cut him in on any of the loot. There’s an awesome line from one of the clowns about The Joker and how he wears make-up as “war paint” to scare the crap out of people. Very cool stuff.

The two clowns in the skyscraper dramatically swing down to the rooftop while the clowns in the van enter the bank guns a blazing.

One of the rooftop clowns disables the silent alarm and comments that the alarm isn’t going to the cops. Once the alarm is halted, his partner shoots him dead.

Cut to William Fichtner.

I was so amped to see Fichtner’s creepy mug. He’s the new Brion James. He’s in everything the way Brion was back in the 80s and he’s as badass as ever. Brilliant casting, Mr. Nolan. Fichtner is the bank manager and he looks pissed.

Then cut to two clowns cracking the safe. Once the one clown gets the safe door open, his partner shoots him dead. We start to see a pattern here. The remaining clown starts to fill the gym bags with cash.

As the clowns in the bank lobby control the crowd, Fichtner goes to work. The bank manager pulls out a shotgun and starts hunting clowns. It was unexpected and super-freakin-awesome. Crazy-ass Fichtner is enraged and ranting on about how these clowns have no idea who they are messing with. You learn that much like the rest of Gotham City this bank is corrupt and run by the mob. Nice twist. Of course the silent alarm doesn’t go to the cops.

Too bad Fichtner runs out of shells and the remaining clowns shoot his angry ass. He’s down, but not dead.

Then the clowns start to argue with each other. One clown asks the other, “So, I guess the Joker told you to shoot me once we had the money?”

The other clown tells him, “No, I’m supposed to shoot the bus driver.”

“Bus driver?” WHAM! A school bus crashes through the front of the bank, running over the first clown.

The back of the bus opens and the bus driver clown jumps out and helps load up the loot. Then bus driver clown gets capped. One clown left.

Fichtner bank manager then mutters something about there once being honor in the underworld of Gotham and this gets the clown’s attention. The clown shoves a grenade in Fichtner’s mouth with a string attached to the pin. The clown takes off his mask and we get an 80-foot IMAX Heath Ledger Joker face telling us “whatever doesn’t kill us makes us stranger.” It’s chill inducing. People are going to lose their minds.

The Joker jumps into the school bus, closes the back door on the string, and drives off. The pin on the grenade is pulled as the bus pulls away. Instead of an explosion, pink gas is released. The school bus pulls into the street and joins a convoy of school buses loaded with children. The Joker escapes into Gotham City.

We were then treated to a montage of Batman shots before the lights went up.

I can’t wait to see this movie. We have to wait a long time before it comes out, and I’m already amped up as hell about it.

I am seriously considering taking the drive to an IMAX theater in a few weeks just to see this.

- Jeff Heimbuch