Searches Surge for Heath Ledger as The Joker The Fate of The Dark Knight

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The Fate of The Dark Knight
Searches Surge for Heath Ledger as The Joker

For months now, buzz has been building for "The Dark Knight," the next edition of the "Batman" film franchise. Directed by Christopher Nolan, the upcoming movie stars Christian Bale as Batman—and Heath Ledger as The Joker.

Advertising for the blockbuster release, which will hit theaters in July, has focused on Ledger's grisly, battered-looking super villain. Now, as The Wall Street Journal says, "the actor's death puts into question the future of the Joker-centric marketing push... and whether Warner Bros. will change tactics rather than risk a negative response." AFP quoted one source as saying that the dilemma the studio finds itself in is "unprecedented in the modern era."

We don't know how people will respond to the movie's marketing or its release, but the fate of the film and the look of Ledger's bruised bad guy have electrified searchers. After news broke of Ledger's shocking death, queries for "heath ledger" catapulted upwards. The next most sought-out search was "heath ledger joker." Since his death, demand for the actor's portrayal of the criminal mastermind has surged nearly 3,600%.

Over the past week, we've also logged massive spikes in terms like "batman the dark knight joker," "heath ledger joker pictures," and "heath ledger as the new joker." General queries, such as "dark knight movie" and "batman the dark knight trailer," have skyrocketed.

One of the posters for the movie features an image of the Caped Crusader's arch foe scrawling "Why so serious?" in blood. Yesterday, "the dark knight why so serious" surged. For as long as Ledger's death remains in the news, there will surely be intensified focus on the film. What happens after that, and how seriously audiences respond to the summer release and its greasecaked clown criminal, remains to be seen.