Aaron Eckhart to play Harvey Dent!
February 18th, 2007 by Eoin
In a follow up to an earlier report it has emerged that Aaron Eckhart is in discussions to play Harvey Dent in the next Batman film The Dark Knight.
I haven’t been overly impressed with the casting decisions since Christopher Nolan took over the Batman franchise - although I am a fan of his work, especially Memento and Insomnia. Christian Bale wouldn’t have been my choice for Batman - but I think he did a decent job, Michael Caine is no Alfred, Katie Holmes isn’t somebody I’d cast in many roles, and the news that Heath Ledger is to play the Joker is mildly upsetting. Having said that I did like Batman Begins (sure, it could have been better but I feel that way about 99.999999999999% of films I see).
The news that Harvey Dent was to appear in The Dark Knight did please me, as he’s one of my favourite Batman villains, and I hated Tommy Lee Jones‘ portrayal in Batman Forever. Mind you, I hated everything about Joel Schumacher’s Batman movies.
There is a good chance that we won’t see Two-Face until the 3rd of Nolan’s Batman films as The Dark Knight already has it’s primary antagonist in The Joker. This means that even when, sorry if, Ledger messes up the Joker I can still look forward to the the 3rd installment.
As you may have guessed by now I’m happy with the choice to give Harvey Dent to Aaron Eckhart. He is an actor who has been knocking on the door for some time now and I’m not sure Hollywood knows what to do with him. He’s not quite the leading man and yet he’s too memorable to be a bit part player. The anti-hero could be the way to go and there’s an element of that to Harvey “Two-Face” Dent. If they build up the Dent/Wayne relationship in The Dark Knight and then unleash Two-Face at the end or in the next movie this could be great.
Eckhart definitely looks the part of Harvey Dent DA. Just look at the picture above. I’m also glad they didn’t opt for a name with a higher profile. Expect an official statement confirming his casting soon.
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February 21st, 2007 at 12:12 pm
Eckhart seems like a good choice alright…
I think Bale may have been a great Batman, but I thought the film didn’t do him justice - nor did the suit, in certain shots he just looked plain ridiculous.
Have to disagree with you on Caine - I thought he was the perfect Alfred!
And since your latest post I’m certainly a little more convinced about Heath Ledger
February 21st, 2007 at 12:13 pm
PS - nice picture to use, at first I thought you had found a still from th enew Batman!
February 21st, 2007 at 12:48 pm
Michael Caine did a decent job of it but in terms of casting he’s too “working class” to play Alfre. I agree that Bale looked ridiculous at times (and that was one of the many flaws of the film). He tried to do a Michael Keaton voice too much too.
One of the problems I have in enjoying the Nolan films is that I LOVED the Tim Burton/Michael Keaton ones. Everything else if going to be compared to that. After Schumacher’s mess though I was just glad to see a return to something darker and less camp.
The Dark Knight will tell a lot about the merits of the Nolan/Bale Batman.
When I saw that still from The Black Dahlia I had to use it. It could easily have been from one of Burton’s Batman films.
July 13th, 2008 at 6:22 am
kinda funny how these days everyone’s talking about how great a Joker Heath Ledger plays.
Really looking forward to see this movie.