A big part of the allure of Heath Ledger's Joker in The Dark Knight was that the villain didn't have a definitive origin. However, Warner Bros. initially wanted one.

During an interview as part of ComicCon@Home, The Dark Knight co-writer David S. Goyer spoke about villain origin stories in superhero films and how they wanted to do something different with The Joker. "I do remember when we were talking about, 'Well what if the Joker doesn't really have an origin story?'" he recalled. "Even after the success of Batman Begins that was considered a very controversial thing and we got a lot of push-back. People were worried."

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The Dark Knight, which was released in 2008, has been lauded as one of the best superhero films of all time, thanks in no small part to Ledger's performance as the Clown Prince of Crime. Ledger would even go on to win several awards for his performance, including the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, albeit posthumously.

The latest live-action film incarnation of the character was featured in Todd Phillips' award-winning 2019 film Joker, which starred Joaquin Pheonix as the titular villain. Additionally, it has been reported that a new Joker is being cast for a follow-up to Matt Reeves' The Batman.

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Directed and co-written by Matt Reeves, The Batman stars Robert Pattinson, Zoë Kravitz, Andy Serkis, Colin Farrell, Paul Dano, Jeffrey Wright, John Turturro, Jayme Lawson and Peter Sarsgaard. The film arrives in theaters Oct. 1, 2021.