The Future Of Heath Ledger's Unfinished Projects

Whenever a movie star or working celebrity dies unexpectedly they almost always leave a confused mix of unfinished projects behind. Heath Ledger was no exception. Ledger was an actor who was very much in demand. As it turned out, Hollywood actually ended up benefiting from Ledger’s selective tastes as he didn’t leave too many projects unfinished with his passing.

The Dark Knight

The one everyone wants to know about the most is, of course, Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight, the Batman Begins sequel in which Ledger portrays The Joker. Since the filming for this movie actually wrapped quite some time ago, Ledger’s part in the film was pretty much completely finished. He even mentioned recently in an interview that he had already done the voice over work and other things that are sometimes required in post-production.

Of course, just because his role in the film was completed doesn’t mean the studio doesn’t have choices to make. Almost the entire marketing campaign of the film centered on Ledger’s Joker character and the tagline “Why So Serious?” (The Dark Knight Teaser Poster Is Here!). The tagline somehow seems inappropriate now as every time someone reads it they’re thinking of Ledger’s death and not the film. This leaves the studio scrambling to make some tough decisions on how to proceed with the marketing for a film that was set to be one of the summer’s biggest hits.

In an almost unprecedented move the studio replaced the Official Website for a time with a tribute to Ledger (which you can still view by going here). In fact, if you click on anything on the official page right now it takes you to the memorial page.

I’m Not There

“The Dark Knight” wasn’t Ledger’s only project, however. His most recent film to hit theaters was the Todd Haynes (Velvet Goldmine, Far From Heaven) directed film, I’m Not There about the life of Bob Dylan (for which Cate Blanchett just received an Oscar nomination). The film is getting a lot of attention, of course, but the producer’s must decide now how to go about taking advantage of Blanchett’s Oscar nomination without looking like they’re taking advantage of Ledger’s death. It will be a balancing act for sure.

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

Perhaps the project most effected by Heath Ledger’s unexpected death is director Terry Gilliam’s The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. Ledger was actually on a break from filming the $30 million picture when he died. The film had wrapped the London leg of its shoot last Saturday and blue-screen work was due to start next week in Vancouver, Canada, where shooting was to continue till March.

Last Video Footage Of Heath Ledger
The video below is said to be from the film’s London set and is believed to be the last footage of the actor. A British Web site, TheLondonPaper.com, posted the clip, which the site claims was shot Saturday night from an apartment window overlooking the set.

The Faustian story of the film centers on the boisterous Dr. Parnassus (played by Christopher Plummer), a 1,000-years-old performer who offers audience members a chance to enter fantastical worlds of imagination (via a magical mirror) in a race with the devil for the life of his daughter. If audience members make a righteous choice, their soul is awarded to Parnassus. If they make a heinous one, their soul belongs to the devil. Ledger was playing a mysterious outsider who embarks on his own quest through parallel worlds to save the girl.

As the biggest name in the ensemble cast, Ledger’s involvement was considered the key component that secured the $30 million financing for the picture in the first place. With half a film to shoot and their star player now dead, the producers fired everyone who was still working on the film on Wednesday. It is not known at this time if it would be possible to finish the film without Ledger via some sort of digital process or if too much of the film remains to be shot. It is unlikely the part would be recast and reshot as the expense would be prohibitive.

Terry Gilliam’s Bad Luck

Unfortunately for Terry Gilliam (Twelve Monkeys, The Brothers Grimm), if this film is shut down for good it would mark the second time such a thing has happened to the director. The filmmaker’s 2000 feature, The Man Who Killed Don Quixote with Johnny Depp, was stopped within a week of filming due to the dire health of actor Jean Rochefort.

The Queen’s Gambit

Ledger’s death also came just as he was gearing up to make his feature film directing debut. Ledger was working with British writer/producer Allan Scott to adapt the Walter Tevis novel The Queen’s Gambit. The leading role of a young, female chess prodigy was reportedly offered to Oscar nominee Ellen Page. Ledger, himself a highly rated chess player who was known to frequently play chess in Washington Square Park when in New York City, was to play a supporting role.

Last Photos of Heath Ledger

As far as we can tell, the photos below are the last known photos to be taken of Heath Ledger before his death. It is reported that they were taken on the set of The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus.