Will Heath Ledger Appear In The Dark Knight Rises?

We wish we knew how to quit Heath Ledger's Joker. While his tragic passing may have slightly inflated the legend of that performance, its power and intensity is still one of the few things that fans can agree upon almost universally. So, one can imagine going into the upcoming third film in 2012's The Dark Knight Rises, that he'll leave a noticeable gap that may be hard to fill. Well, according to a rumor reported by ShowBizSpy, thanks to the miracle of technology which put Fred Astaire in vacuum commercials and Marlon Brando in Superman Returns, that gap may at least be somewhat filled. Their "sources" are telling them that director Christopher Nolan plans to use cut footage of Ledger's Dark Knight performance as the basis for a cameo in Rises. So, while even in the best scenario, we won't be graced with another Oscar-winning performance, it may be a nice gesture to both Heath and the fans that bridges the gap between this film and the last. So, should we be "so serious" about this latest tidbit? Or is it just the weekly wacky Batman rumor?

According to ShowBizSpy's source:

“The idea is to use these fragments of cut scenes and use CGI to have The Joker appear one last time,” reveals a movie insider. "Chris wants some continuity between movies and for the franchise to pay tribute to Heath and his portrayal of the Joker. It would only be a fleeting moment in the movie and would only be included with the full consent of Heath’s family.”

A posthumous Ledger cameo is certainly a rumor that's within the realm of possibility. Even if only for a few seconds, it's obviously something that fans want to see, and would even be consistent with the theme established with the Scarecrow in The Dark Knight, featuring a cameo of the last film's villain. Unlike the last series of Batman films by Tim Burton and Joel Schumacher, which went for the indulgent narrative wrap-up by killing its villains in the end of each film, this "cameo" method creates an atmosphere that more accurately reflects Batman's perpetual quest of battling his villains countless numbers of times. It's a concept that plays true to the idea of what the Caped Crusader's story is all about.

I think it's pretty safe to say that people would be all for this cameo across the board. So, the question remains: Is this rumor legit?

*Update: A report from MovieHole is shooting down the rumor.

Source: ShowBizSpy