Back in 2008, there were a few major events that completely changed the movie business forever. That year, the MCU would officially get underway with the release of Iron Man, and for DCThe Dark Knight would debut in theaters. Both films are heralded as modern classics, and while they were completely differently, they both had a hand in changing things.

The Dark Knight is considered by many to be the greatest superhero movie ever made, but the truth is that the film was shrouded in controversy and dark moments, leading many to believe that the film itself is cursed.

So, is The Dark Knight actually a cursed film? Let’s look at all of the wild evidence and see what exactly happened with this timeless flick.

On-Set Accidents With Crew Members

Dark Knight
Via lamag.com

One of the things that the masses don’t see about blockbuster films is all of the insane amount of work that goes into bringing them to life. All of the cool stuff that we love to see is performed by actual people, and sometimes things can go terribly wrong while filming.

During the production of The Dark Knight, a special effects technician was involved in an accident that he was not able to walk away from on set.

According to reports, the individual was on a stock truck when it flipped over in the middle of filming a scene. Accidents happen on set, but something like this completely rocked everyone involved.

According to The Guardian, “A jury sitting at Woking Coroners Court for the two-day inquest heard that a crew were filming a test run for a scene in which the Batmobile is blown up. The Nissan, driven by another special effects technician, Bruce Monroe-Armstrong, failed to make the 90 degree turn required at the end of its run, and hit a tree.”

Naturally, this story would make news, and it set an aura around the film that it simply would not shake. As time went on, other things surrounding the film would start to add up and give it a cursed stigma.

Related: Could The New ‘Batman’ Movie Have Too Many Villains?

Morgan Freeman’s Accident

Morgan Freeman
Via cinemablend.com

Not too long after the film made its way into theaters there was an interesting bit of information surrounding Morgan Freeman, who had gotten into a major car accident. This accident was another piece of the curse of the film.

According to The Guardian, “Freeman was driving near his home in Charleston, Mississippi, at the time of the accident. The actor and a female companion were cut free by emergency workers before being airlifted to a hospital 90 miles away in Memphis, Tennessee.”

The report also states that the jaws of life were used to spring Freeman free from the flipped vehicle. He would eventually make a full recovery, but this led many people to seeing a pattern going on. There seemed to be one bad thing around the corner for the people involved in making The Dark Knight, and a curse seemed totally possible.

Keep in mind that this accident was on the heels of Christian Bale’s arrest, which was another black eye on the film itself. Bale’s arrest was something that caught people off guard, and The Independent reported that he was eventually released from jail.

That same report also mentions that this took place right before the premiere of the film, which Bale was eventually allowed to attend. Naturally, fans were getting a little uneasy with all of the bad press surrounding the film.

Of course, Freeman and Bale’s situation would come nowhere close to the gravity of what happened with Heath Ledger.

Related: An Inside Look At ‘The Batman’ Movies We Never Got To See

Heath Ledger’s Tragic Story

Joker
Via filmschoolrejects.com

Of all of the things surrounding the curse of The Dark Knight, the passing of Heath Ledger is certainly the thing that people remember most.

Ledger was a young star in the entertainment industry, and while he had plenty of success already, it was going to be his role as the Joker that was really going to take his fame to another level. What fans got to see when the movie debuted was a performance that would ultimately net him a posthumous Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

Not only did Heath Ledger earn an incredible amount of rave reviews for his performance, but he gave comic book fans and iteration of an iconic character that few could ever come close to matching.

Ledger’s passing truly sent shockwaves through the industry, and it gave a ton of credence to the film being cursed. There were a lot of bad things that happened while making the film and in the months after its release, and it has continued to live on in infamy.

Related: Does The ‘Static Shock’ Movie Open The Door For ‘Batman Beyond’?

Despite being arguably the best superhero movie ever made, The Dark Knight still has quite a dark legacy.

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