Dark Knight Casting Rumors

So the latest casting rumors have Aaron Eckhart playing Harvey Dent in the Dark Knight (The sequel to Batman Begins); Katie Holmes has dropped out/been let go from the sequel as well, and the names being thrown out there as possible replacements are Rachel McAdams, Emily Blunt, and Maggie Gyllenhaal.

Let me tell you, from Day One with Batman Begins, the people working on this movie have done nothing but right with the casting (heck, even with the casting RUMORS). Christian Bale was perfect for Batman/Bruce Wayne (or James Bond for that matter) and they got him after months of rumors. Michael Caine was perfect for Alfred, Gary Oldman was perfect for Jim Gordon, etc. The only casting choice that made me go WTF really was Katie Holmes', but that character was so minor in the overall Batman canon that it did not make much of a difference to me. But as my friend Sean said, even THAT they're remedying now.

I'm partial to Rachel McAdams because, hell, I think she's hot, but I wouldn't be fully opposed to Emily Blunt or Maggie G either (even though I don't really think much of Maggie either way). Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent/Two-Face is great though. Heath Ledger, who is officially the Joker, also brings more acting muscle into this movie. I've always said though that Johnny Depp would have been the perfect Joker, but Pirates made him a huge star and he'd have busted the budget. But one can imagine.

All in all, I can't wait for this in 2008 now. It's no secret that I've always thought Batman Begins was the best superhero movie ever for me, along with Spider Man 1. I'll try to dig up my old e-mail from 2005 where I wax poetic about it and post it.

But let me close this with my favorite line from the movie, one which was repeated to me by one of my very best friends in this planet when he helped me through a very tough time last year and I wanted to show my appreciation, and hearing it from him made me tear up. The line went:

Lt. Gordon, to Batman as he is walking away at the end: "I never thanked you."

Batman, who stops, turns around, looks at Gordon and then says: "And you'll never have to."