As I mentioned yesterday, the question on everyone’s mind following Heath Ledger’s death, “What about Batman?” isn’t really a big concern. The Dark Knight is safely in post-production, with principal photography completed. At the worst, they’ll have to get a stand-in to fill in if they need any body shots of Ledger, but all indications are that the movie is fine. Instead, the big concern is for Ledger’s final picture, the Terry Gilliam directed Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus.
According to Variety, the first leg of filming on Gilliam’s movie completed last week in London and the production was en route to Vancouver to work on blue screen work. That’s where the production would remain until March. However, without Ledger, it’s unknown how the production will be affected.
Even worse news for Gilliam’s movie, however, is the idea that the $30-million financing for the picture may have been contingent on Ledger’s involvement. According to the early reports, the producers, including Samuel Hadida, may have been banking on Ledger’s name more than Gilliam’s. With Ledger’s death leaving the project in limbo, it’s possible that Doctor Parnassus may become the second Gilliam film to have the production fall apart following a tragedy with a cast member (the first would be The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, which fell apart after leading man Jean Rochefort became ill).
It’s unknown whether there’s enough footage with Ledger to piece together a film, or if the movie will require reshoots with another actor. If the latter proves to be true, there’s a good chance that The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus won’t see the light of day; at least not without a star of equal weight signing on to replace Ledger.
