Dark Knight: Gyllenhaal On Own

Maggie Gyllenhaal--who takes over the role of crusading prosecutor Rachel Dawes in the Batman sequel The Dark Knight--told reporters that she wanted to respect Katie Holmes' previous incarnation of the character, but ultimately had to make it her own.

"First of all, I wanted to make sure that I had her blessing to do The Dark Knight, and when I was sure that I did--you know, I'm a fan of hers," Gyllenhaal (Sherry Baby) said in a group interview in Beverly Hills, Calif., earlier this week. "I think she's a lovely actress, and I thought she did a great job with the previous [film,] Batman [Begins]. ... I really like her work. But I also felt like it wouldn't do anyone any good for me to kind of try to imitate what she had done. I would have been horrible at that."

Gyllenhaal's Dawes figures prominently in The Dark Knight, both as the oldest friend of Bruce Wayne/Batman (Christian Bale) and the love interest of virtuous Gotham City district attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart). After originating the character, Holmes bowed out of The Dark Knight, leaving the way open for Gyllenhaal. "I thought, really, the thing I have to do is think of her as a new woman," Gyllenhaal said.

"Of course, there were things in the previous movie--plot points and narrative things that were really important, I think, in The Dark Knight, so I paid attention to those and the way she built that. ... Most importantly, I think that she says at the very end of the movie to Bruce that she loves him, but that she can't be with him while he's Batman and that she understands why he's Batman, but that she can't be with him. And that plays out, of course, all the way through this movie. And Katie created all of that. So, of course, she was a huge part of this. But not, I don't think, in a direct way for me. ... I really had to think of her as a different woman when I played her." Gyllenhaal said.

The Dark Knight, which also stars the late Heath Ledger as the Joker, opens July 18.

-Patrick Lee, News Editor