Dark Knight Rises book hints at The Joker's fate

[Minor spoilers within]

The fate of Heath Ledger’s Joker has been hinted at in the novelisation of ‘The Dark Knight Rises’.

Series director Christopher Nolan made a point of not mentioning the iconic character in his latest movie out of respect for Ledger, who tragically died prior to the release of ‘The Dark Knight’ in 2008.

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The book states that Arkham Asylum (absent from Nolan’s two sequels to ‘Batman Begins’) was left almost empty following the Harvey Dent Act, which is an early plot point in the movie born from the demise of Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) in the 2008 film and the subsequent covering up of his death.

Blackgate Prison is where the majority of criminals now reside except for, according to the book, the clown prince of crime.

The novelisation reads: "The worst of the worst were sent here, except for the Joker, who, rumour had it, was locked away as Arkham's sole remaining inmate. Or perhaps he escaped. Nobody was really sure. Not even Selina."

‘The Dark Knight Rises’ is out now, the novelisation is available from Titan Books.