Heath Ledger's sudden, shocking death [1] yesterday has left several of his current projects up in the air. The biggest among them is this Summer's The Dark Knight [2], but Ledger was also shooting a film with director Terry Gilliam and was preparing for his directorial debut. Here's some of the latest news:
- The Dark Knight is still on track for its July 18 release as of Tuesday. That film's studio, Warner Bros., issued a statement saying: "The studio is stunned and devastated by this tragic news. Heath was a brilliant actor and an exceptional person.” Variety is reporting that the status of the film's marketing campaign is unclear [3], as it's built around sinister photos and appearances by The Joker.
- Production on what was supposed to be Ledger's next film after The Dark Knight, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus [4], was reportedly shut down on Tuesday [5]. The movie had just completed shooting in London and relocated to Vancouver for the next leg of production. It's unclear what will happen to the film now, but Ledger — who was the biggest star in the cast, which also includes Tom Waits and Christopher Plummer — had been considered key to its financing. [6] That film's producers have not issued a statement.
- Ledger was also preparing his directorial debut, an adaptation of the novel The Queen's Gambit. [7] According to Variety, Ellen Page had been offered the lead role of a chess prodigy [8], and Ledger, who was a chess player himself, was going to play a supporting part. His Parnassus director, Terry Gilliam, had said [9] of his talent: "He’s watching everything, and he’s going to be a much better director than I will ever be."