Unseen footage of Heath Ledger to be used in next Batman movie?

MELBOURNE - Director Christopher Nolan is planning to bring the Joker back for the next instalment of the Batman franchise, The Dark Knight Rises, according to reports.

Nolan is apparently planning on resurrecting Heath Ledger’s performance using previously unseen footage of the actor, reports the Daily Telegraph.

Ledger, who died of a prescription drug overdose in Jan. 2008, became only the second person in history to win a posthumous Oscar for his supporting role as Joker in ‘The Dark Knight’.

Ledger’s portrayal has gone down in history as one of the most intense depictions of a character ever portrayed on the silver screen.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Nolan has denied this saying, “I heard the rumor. We’re not doing that.”

“The idea is to use these fragments of cut scenes and use CGI to have The Joker appear one last time,” a source told MTV.com.

“Chris wants some continuity between movies and for the franchise to pay tribute to Heath and his portrayal of the Joker,” the source added.

The latest report also notes that the re-cut footage of Ledger’s performance “would only be included with the full consent of Heath’s family.” (ANI)