Earlier today we were the first place to break the story here that there might be trouble with The Dark Knight’s final cut. The movie has been shown to test screening audiences, who apparently reacted very badly to a scene in which Heath Ledger, as the Joker, pretends to be dead. Our source told us the reaction was so bad, that studio bosses may have been considering taking the scene out.
Now our buddy Clint over at Moviehole says his sources tell him that all is well. He confirms what we told you earlier, that the scene has apparently disturbed the audiences it’s been shown to, but says that they’re leaving it in anyway. His source says, “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.”
Unfortunately neither of us knows the identity of each other’s sources, or we could play a game of whip it out and measure to figure who has the real deal. It’s interesting the way MH’s source words his denial though. He says that the scene is still in the film, and that the WB has issued no mandate to change it. That doesn’t actually contradict what our source told us. His assertion was merely that the removal of the scene is being considered by higher ups. Obviously it’s still in the film right now, since it’s being shown to test screening audiences. So I’m not entirely ready to say Heath Ledger’s Dark Knight performance is safe, but this is at least a good sign.
And if the WBs higher ups out there are still actually considering yanking a piece of Heath’s legacy from the movie, then the almost universally negative response fans have had to the idea of taking the scene out, can’t help but tip them in the right direction. Their message, in our comments section, via email, and on other sites all around the web has been clear: Leave Heath’s performance alone! We can take it.
