Chris Nolan Talks Referencing The Joker in “The Dark Knight Rises”

Even before shooting on “The Dark Knight Rises” started, there was a lot of talk about the possibility of including, in some form or another, The Joker from “The Dark Knight” in it. Chris Nolan sets the record straight on that in a new interview with Empire.

Fans must already know that The Joker was Heath Ledger's final role, one that also won him an Oscar and that basically rewrote the concept of villain in a comic book-inspired movie.

As such, it's no wonder fans would love to at least see him acknowledged in the upcoming “The Dark Knight Rises,” even if not included in the story.

It won't happen, unfortunately.

“We're not addressing the Joker. That is something I felt very strongly about in terms of my relationship with Heath [Ledger] and the experience I went through with him on The Dark Knight,” Nolan says.

“I didn't want to in any way try and account for a real-life tragedy. That seemed inappropriate to me. We just have a new set of characters and a continuation of Bruce Wayne's story. Not involving the Joker,” the famous director adds.

So there: there will be no Joker in the upcoming Batman film. However, we'll not be short on villains and threats, as the latest (third) trailer below confirms.

“The Dark Knight Rises” rises on July 20.