How Will Ledger's Death Effect TDK?

I'm sure you've all heard about what happened, probably more than you wanted to. The latest news is that there were no illegal drugs found in the apartment, just prescription medication for anxiety, insomnia, and the flu (all of which Ledger was suffering from in the weeks prior to his death). There were no pills "scattered about" like the initial accounts reported. It's looking more and more like an unfortunate accident.

About a month ago, I read an interview with him about playing the Joker in The Dark Knight, where he said "[the] joker is a psychopathic, mass-murdering, schizophrenic clown with zero empathy... Last week I probably slept an average of two hours a night. I couldn’t stop thinking. My body was exhausted, and my mind was still going."

So if playing such a dark and demanding role contributed to the circumstances surrounding his unfortunate death, how will that effect 2008's most anticipated film, The Dark Knight? Especially considering the viral marketing that has been pushed so far, most of which focuses entirely on the Joker character?

Warner Bro's has promised that the movie itself, which had already completed filming, will not be altered in any way. But the advertising will change. They've already hired a new domestic marketing president, Sue Kroll, who is charged with the task of selling this movie without focusing on its centerpiece spectacle, Heath Ledger's dark take on the fascinating, macabre Joker.

This kind of situation is not without precedent. Fans of Gladiator may know that actor Oliver Reed, who played the elderly, entrepreneurial trader Proximo, died before finishing his scenes. Instead of recasting or removing his character, Reed's final scenes were rewritten and included a stand-in. An episode of The Sopranos was aired after the death of actress Nancy Marchand. The cult classic film noir, The Crow, utilized a stunt double and CGI after its star, Brandon Lee (Bruce Lee's son), was accidentally killed on-set by a prop gun.

Ledger's other film-in-progress, The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus, will not fair as well, considering it just started shooting. Director Terry Gilliam (12 Monkeys, Brazil), a Monty Python veteran, who is infamous for production disasters, has just canceled yet another. Christopher Plummer and Tom Waits were among the disbanded cast.

It will be interesting to see how The Dark Knight's marketing initiative changes. I'm not sure how I'm going to feel about watching the movie on July 18th. Batman Begins is arguably my favorite film of all time. I was extremely excited about the sequel. But now, every shot and line of dialogue featuring the Joker will be haunted by Ledger's tragedy. Whatever the critical and financial outcome, The Dark Knight will likely go down in history as one of the most infamous films of all time. For better or for worse.