14 Things You Never Knew About 'The Dark Knight' on its 10th Anniversary

Can you believe it's been a decade since "The Dark Knight" hit theaters? Even ten years and a reboot or two later, his film is still widely regarded as the best Batman movie ever made. So let's celebrate this anniversary by exploring some fun trivia about Christopher Nolan's Batman opus.

1. "The Dark Knight" became the first superhero movie to reach the billion dollar mark at the box office (though certainly not the last). It made more money in its first week of release than "Batman Begins" did in its entire theatrical run.

2. Heath Ledger specifically wanted to create an interpretation of Joker that didn't replicate Jack Nicholson's performance in "Batman." To do so, he modeled his performance mainly on rocker Sid Vicious and Malcolm McDowell's character from "A Clockwork Orange."

3. Katie Holmes declined to reprise her role as Rachel Dawes, forcing Nolan to seek out a replacement. Prior to Maggie Gyllenhaal's casting, other actresses considered included Rachel McAdams, Isla Fisher and Sarah Michelle Gellar.

4. An earlier draft of the script featured a reference to the fact that Rachel is related to Dick Grayson, the original Robin in the Batman comics. Nolan opted to cut that moment, not wanting to give fans the impression that Robin would appear in the next sequel.

5. The shot of Batman standing precariously atop Chicago's Sears Tower is real. Not only that, Christian Bale insisted that he be the one to appear in the shot, not a stunt double.

6. The iconic Batpod motorcycle proved extremely difficult to drive. It weighed around 600 pounds and only one stuntman managed to drive it properly during filming.

7. Other actors considered for the part of Harvey Dent included Matt Damon, Hugh Jackman, Mark Ruffalo and Ryan Phillippe.

8. Cillian Murphy became the first actor to reprise the role of a Batman villain in a live-action film thanks to his cameo as Scarecrow.

9. "The Dark Knight" is thus far the only Batman movie where Batman doesn't use a Batarang at all.

10. Ledger's distinctive face-licking tic came about for practical reasons. Ledger found that his silicone facial prosthetics came loose when he talked, and the licking helped keep them in place.

11. While Nolan never included the Riddler in any of his Batman movies, it's believed that Joshua Harto's character Coleman Reese was intended to be a loose interpretation of the character. Fans point to the fact that Reese deduces Batman's secret identity and point out that the name "Mister Reese" is a Riddler-worthy play on words.

12. While Bale's raspy Batman voice is often lampooned in pop culture, Bale didn't actually alter his vocal approach compared to "Batman Begins." Nolan made the decision to digitally alter Bale's voice in post-production.

13. The Italian dub of 1989's "Batman" features Giancarlo Giannini as the voice of Joker. As a tribute to that film, his son Adriano was cast as the voice of Joker in "The Dark Knight's" Italian dub.

14. Ledger posthumously won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, the first time a comic book movie won an acting Oscar. The nomination was actually announced on the one-year anniversary of Ledger's death.

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