Chapter 600: The Joker

New York had already begun its busy morning. Inside a four-story apartment on Manhattan Broome Street, a young Heath Ledger woke from his sleep. The moment he opened his eyes, he felt that something wasn't quite right.

A swarm of mosquitoes seemed to buzz in his head, a ceaseless droning that grew louder and louder until it merged into a deafening roar. He felt as if something were pressing outward from his blood vessels, nearly bursting his body apart. The sounds around him took on a muffled, distorted quality, like static from an electronic device, and the patterns in his vision swayed and twisted.

His skin turned cold, twitching uncontrollably. It felt as if some unseen kitten were dragging sharp claws across his raised goosebumps. The agonizing itch seeped through his pores and drilled deep into his bones. He tried to rub it, but couldn't reach it; tried to scratch, but it was useless. He could only writhe, hoping the friction of his shifting flesh against his bones would offer some relief.

It was inhuman torture. If it continued, he would absolutely break down.

Since he had been dealing with this condition for a few years, Heath Ledger naturally knew the cause. He propped himself up and fumbled for a pill bottle on the nightstand. Hesitating for less than half a second, he unscrewed the cap, tossed a few pills into his mouth, and swallowed them dry without a sip of water.

As if triggered by a psychological cue, the bizarre physical and mental sensations abruptly vanished. His energy surged, and the young, handsome, genius actor returned to his senses.

Gradually, Heath Ledger returned to normal. He shook his head hard, his gaze falling on another object on the nightstand. It was a character script for the villain in the second Batman movie, specially delivered by the agent of the famous director Duke Rosenberg.

Although he was told the script hadn't been finalized, this character wouldn't undergo many changes. He had held onto the character script for a while now, and Heath had read and studied it several times. It was a role full of magic, one that would let him truly show his potential!

In 1989, Jack Nicholson had portrayed this character, earning countless praises.

Normally, with such a brilliant precedent, most people wouldn't want to touch a role like this again.

Heath Ledger had originally wanted to refuse as well, but after reading the character script, he discovered the conceptualization had undergone earth-shattering changes. Although both were named the Joker, they were entirely different.

Moreover, the Joker's setup in this script... how to put it? Words like crazy and stunning didn't seem enough to describe it.

He heard that the character's design came straight from Duke Rosenberg. Perhaps only such a unique director could adapt such a special role.

With that thought, Heath Ledger picked up the script and flipped through it once more.

In this character script, the Joker displayed a kind of madness. A madness with no bottom line and no rules, a madness that reached the absolute pinnacle of evil.

And what did evil reaching the absolute pinnacle look like? At this pinnacle, evil wasn't a means; it was the goal. This ultimate evil was pure. Not for money, not for lust, not for any other purpose—creating and unleashing evil was the sole pursuit itself.

The Joker's evil was exactly this kind of pure malice. He simply wanted to create a "higher class of evil" for the city. In Heath Ledger's eyes, compared to the Joker, even John Doe's crimes in Seven Deadly Sins couldn't be considered a "higher class of evil," because they carried too much extra baggage.

Just as Batman was a knight strictly adhering to justice and morality, the Joker was actually an evil puritan. In his eyes, committing crimes for money, power, lust, or any other motive was practically a blasphemy against "evil." Evil was only pure in his hands.

In the Joker's hands, evil and chaos became works of art. He splashed evil around like a painter painting or a musician composing. So from beginning to end, regardless of his circumstances, he maintained the arrogance and smugness of a demon.

At first glance, the Joker's actions in the script seemed both crazy and chaotic, but it wasn't hard for Heath Ledger to figure out that the character had a fanatical pursuit—breaking past everyone's bottom line.

This was a crazy character!

Closing the script, Heath Ledger sat quietly on the edge of the bed and thought for a good while. For the past dozen days, he had been considering whether to take the role.

Frankly, he didn't like superhero movies, which was why he had hesitated until now about taking on a Batman film. But the name Duke Rosenberg and the delivered character script drew him in immensely.

In Hollywood, how many actors didn't want to work with Duke Rosenberg? Doing so usually meant a complete harvest of career, fame, and money.

Heath Ledger was no exception, which was why he hadn't outright rejected the role.

Having thought it over, he made his decision.

Picking up his phone, Heath Ledger dialed a number.

"Mara, I want that role."

His agent, Mara Buxbaum, immediately said, "I'll contact Charles Roven right now and have the crew arrange your audition as soon as possible."

The voice on the phone sounded excited. There wasn't an agent alive who didn't want to represent a superstar.

The news quickly reached Duke. Although the project wouldn't officially begin pre-production until July, it had already passed the Warner Bros. Review Committee. There would be no obstacles in getting The Dark Knight greenlit.

Duke gave Charles Roven a few instructions. As soon as pre-production officially started, they would arrange Heath Ledger's Joker audition first, giving him more time to figure out the character.

But as in the past, Heath Ledger was only the first choice for the Joker, not the only choice. After all, no one knew if the current Heath Ledger could meet the demands of the role.

Furthermore, there was Two-Face, Harvey Dent. Duke had also had someone contact Nicolas Cage's agent. Perhaps having been notified by Sofia Coppola in advance, Nicolas Cage didn't hesitate to accept the audition invitation, despite not having seen the character script or any related materials.

Similarly, even if Duke was giving Nicolas Cage a hand for Sofia Coppola's sake, he wouldn't be the only choice. If Cage happened to be in poor acting form and failed to meet the requirements, Duke wouldn't use him.

There was no shortage of actors for this. News about the second Batman movie inevitably leaked out, and Hugh Jackman, Ryan Phillippe, Liev Schreiber, and Josh Lucas had all sent word through their agents expressing great interest in the role of prosecutor Harvey Dent.

With the project about to be greenlit, Warner Bros. also began some targeted promotions to let fans know that the second Batman movie was heading into production.

In mid-June, someone leaked on Instant Sharing and multiple film and television websites that "the Penguin," Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot, would appear in this new Batman. They also launched a highly influential poll for the most suitable actor, and Bob Hoskins won with an absolute majority of the votes.

Warner Bros. had probably done some PR beforehand. When Bob Hoskins accepted an interview, he stated that he was very willing to play this character and looked forward to working with Duke, calling him a "dream director."

This news brewed on the internet for a long time, even sparking discussions among Batman fans and comic book fans.

Only when the news reached a certain level of heat did Duke use his Instant Sharing account to announce that he had no intention of using "Mr. Penguin."

Although this disappointed some fans of the Penguin, it achieved plenty of promotional effect.

"It wouldn't be very fitting for the Penguin to appear in the movie. It feels a bit forced."

In the office, Duke was discussing Batman matters with Anna Printz, Hannah Serena, John Schwartzman, and others, with the characters being his main focal point.

"It's enough for this movie to have the Joker," he said.

"This character's design," Anna Printz said, holding a Joker concept sketch drawn by Hannah Serena, "has severely deviated from the comics."

"Strictly speaking," John Schwartzman chimed in, "after reading the script, I don't think the movie has any comic book style left. If it weren't wearing the Batman skin, it wouldn't even have much to do with superhero movies."

"That's why, John, you need to pay attention to the cinematography style." Duke thought for a moment before adding, "The cinematography needs to be darker and more realistic. It should look more like a crime thriller."

He reached out for the Joker concept sketch Anna Printz was holding and told his art director, "Try to make the Joker's clothing and makeup look a bit older and sloppier. Avoid making him look like a vagrant from the comics. The overall design should highlight the sharp and neurotic side of the character."

"I understand." Hannah Serena pointed at the concept sketch. "This is just the first draft. I've already thought it through carefully. Building on the comic character, I will borrow styles from the pop master of counterculture, Pete Doherty, and the 'Godfather of Punk,' Iggy Pop."

Duke nodded and added, "This is also a way to use a comical performance to mask his personality. My goal is to dig out this character's deeper realist traits. For him, dressing up as the 'Joker' is, in a way, a gorgeous manifestation of his life's flame."

Throughout the entire movie, the Joker was meant to outshine Batman by far. To some degree, Bruce Wayne was more like a super-sized extra.

As time moved into July, Warner Bros. finished its series of review processes. Duke's team assembled once again, and even Christian Bale resumed training. The Batman project now met all the conditions to be greenlit.

Just after the Independence Day holiday, Warner Bros. and DC Comics, together with Duke, held a press conference to announce the greenlighting of The Dark Knight.