New stills from The Dark Knight

[Meule]

It's not how I see the Joker and it's not how Bob Kane drew him, but a single pic doesn't mean a thing. I'll tell ya how I feel AFTER I've seen the movie

[Captain]

Some of the pics are still up here!

http://www.darkhorizons.com/news07/070816l.php

[Meule]

Crap, the pic has been taken down. It seems some people hated it, others don't mind. Even tho I haven't seen it myself I still have faith in Nolan

[Captain]

When the first sneak photos of Joker came out, I was hoping the crummy makeup was just being used for rehearsals. Lots more pictures out now, that seem to confirm this IS his on screen look. I have to add my vote to the "dont like it" pile. The makeup issue doesnt mean the movie is going to be garbage....I'm sure it will be great, but it is a distraction for me.
The ever growing number of villians who are set to appear in this movie is also adding some cause for concern....I guess we will see soon enough how well the filmmakers handle all this!

[MIB41]

Well the only thing missing from the Batman suit are the nipples (from the Schumacher-era Batman & Robin). You would THINK the studio would have distanced themselves from that look. Honestly I thought Batman was going to start looking more like his comic book counterpart but obviously that isn't happening. There have been a number of homemade mini-movies and trailer style films made about our beloved Dark Knight and these limited productions always have him looking BETTER than these $200 million films. I just don't get it. I also saw the teaser trailer and the Joker's voice did nothing for me. It didn't sound like someone truly crazy. It sounded like someone trying to act crazy and there's a big difference. The inflection just isn't in his voice. You can tell he doesn't believe what he's saying, so you don't believe it either. I'm sure this film will be interesting in it's own right because you have a number of good talent involved in the project. But I've learned quite a bit about comic book adaptations through the years and the one thing that always seems to hold true for all the great films is a basic respect for the original material.

Batman has been an odd character for Hollywood to understand which is interesting because if you placed an illustration of Spiderman next to Batman 10 years ago, most would say Spiderman would be the hardest to adapt to film since all he has is tights and Batman already had his makeover with Tim Burton. Even when I heard Spiderman was coming to the big screen I immediately 'Batman-ized' his image in my head. I thought, "Oh, they'll have to wrap him in a rubber outfit." The rest is history. The director and studio found a way to make the character honest to the comic book and crowds embraced it because they got exactly what they knew from comics and cartoons. This is what Batman continues to lack and it's very unfortunate. If the studios sat down and developed a Neil Adams Batman to the big screen, this country would go NUTS! People want Batman not a glorified hit man in a rubber suit and cape. Perhaps one day they will figure that out.

[kingdom warrior]

It's too early to tell.....I'm trusting that He'll play the Joker part right not worried about a few photos......

[The Sentry]

cant wait for the movie. the stills look good. the makeup is not that good.

Agreed.

[grayhank]

Oops my bad. That's the wrong book, thought that was the story I was talking about but it's not. The book is actually The Killing Joke (boy do I feel stupid now) sometimes I get my Bolland covers mixed up.

[megoscott]

As usual, I like the fake photoshop images on the net better than the actual look. Heath doesn't quite look right, but I have a lot of faith in Nolan and Bale.

[grayhank]

Joker is a criminal and gets dumped in some chemicals. Sure he becomes a worse criminal, and crazier, but the red hood was barely a character before he became the Joker.

He was a criminal as the red hood, no argument there. But it's the chemical accident that drives him over the edge to complete insanity. Prior to that he was just a small time thug. See Legends of the Dark Knight #50 for an excellent look at his background prior to becoming the Joker. Of course even the Joker says as he's telling his story that he sometimes remembers it differently.

[Wee67]

I accepted Bat's black suit, I can deal with this. Besides, if chenical disfugured your pimentation, wouldn't it come out kind of messy?

I'm really more worried about how he's portrayed than anything else.

[Earth 2 Chris]

Ditto what Aquatroy said for me.

Plus, the Joker's chemical bath origin was done pretty faithfully in the Burton movie. Had they gone that route, Dark Knight would have seemed like a remake to the general public.

Chris

[aquatroy]

When I see that makeup, Lullaby by the Cure starts playing in my head.

Honestly, the makeup doesn't bother me that much. The Joker is still disfigured (huge scar making a horrific smile). He's still crazy, and he's still deadly. After "Begins", I'll trust the film makers to do a great movie.

[toys2cool]

I don't think it's that bad,it looks pretty real and that's what i wanted to see.
On another note,doesn't Bale look a little thinner?

[Comic Book Geek]

That's the equivelent of Bruce Wayne becoming Batman because his parents get shot by a BB gun, which doesn't kill them but really stings a bit.

No, no it's not. Batman's origin is iconic. Ask 100 people on the street about Batman's origin and 98% or better know it. How high would the Joker's be? 50%?

Batman's parents are murdered and he vows to seek justice.

Joker is a criminal and gets dumped in some chemicals. Sure he becomes a worse criminal, and crazier, but the red hood was barely a character before he became the Joker.

I understand why you guys hate it, but I don't think white skin defines the joker anymore than a 1970's blue cape defines Batman.

Another thing to note is that the close up is the Joker after a sound beating. In the other shots it's clear that the makeup is brighter.

Anyone notice the angle of the camera in the shot where Joker is kicking Batman? Nice touch IMO.