Visionary director Terry Gilliam (whose films are always plagued with bad luck) had directed Ledger before in ‘The Brothers Grimm’. Eager to work together again, they reunited for this spectacular fantasy but Ledger tragically overdosed on prescription drugs half way through the shoot.
Rather than reshoot all his scenes or scrap the film in its entirety, Gilliam pledged to finish it as a tribute. He drafted in Jude Law, Colin Farrell and Johnny Depp to play different versions of his character to let his final work be seen. The result is eclectic but outstandingly imaginative.