The The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus went on hiatus after Ledger’s unexpected death on January 22 and many believed there would be no way to complete the film. The film, however, had just shot weeks of live-action in London and Gilliam was about to embark on several weeks of bluescreen work in Canada when the death occurred. It seems that Ledger actually completed all of his “realistic” scenes in the film and all that was left was the “fantastical” which opened the door to the solution for finishing the film.

The decision to use three separate actors to replace Ledger was done partly due to scheduling issues and was made possible because of the fantastical nature of the story, in which characters pass from contemporary London through a magic mirror into parallel worlds of the imagination. Depp, Farrell and Law will all play physically transformed versions of Ledger’s character when he passes into the other worlds.

In a statement, producers William Vince, Amy Gilliam and Samuel Hadida said: “Since the format of the story allows for the preservation of his entire performance, at no point will Heath’s work be modified or altered through the use of digital technology. Each of the parts played by Johnny, Colin and Jude is representative of the many aspects of the character that Heath was playing.”

Gilliam said, “I am grateful to Johnny, Colin and Jude for coming onboard, and to everyone else who has made it possible for us to finish the film.”

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus also stars Christopher Plummer, Verne Troyer, Andrew Garfield, Lily Cole and Tom Waits.

Heath Ledger’s final role in director Terry Gilliam’s The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus will be seen by the public after all. After weeks of speculation and rumors, a solution has been found that will allow the film to be finished in a way that works for both the film and the memory of Heath Ledger.

AICN is reporting that Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell will pay tribute to Heath Ledger by filling in the remainder of Ledger’s performance in The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus.

How can this be?

Well, the Faustian story of The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus 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. Reportedly, Ledger’s character falls through the “magical mirror” in the film. The filmmakers will thus use the “magical mirror” device as an opportunity to change the look of the character and interchange between the four actors.

If done well, and I have no reason to think it will not be, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus could be an incredible and fitting send off for Ledger and a class act on the part of the actors and filmmakers involved.

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 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.

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.