Heath Ledger's death was the result of an accidental overdose according to the New York City medical examiner. Heath Ledger was discovered dead in a Manhattan apartment on January 22, 2008 with sleeping pills found near his body.
Ledger had a combination of prescription drugs in his system including sleeping pills and painkillers. The medical examiner reported finding a combination of oxycodone, hydrocodone, diazepam, temazepam, alprazolam, and doxylamine in the toxicology tests. No illegal drugs were found in Ledger's system.
Actors and fans are still struggling to deal with the Oscar-nominated Ledger's death at the age of 28. At the Los Angeles press junket for Fool's Gold, Ledger's Four Feathers co-star Kate Hudson said of his passing, "Everybody is still processing it. It’s hard to talk about. It’s very sad. He is loved and I’m just thinking about his family right now."
Ledger had completed The Dark Knight but was in production on Terry Gilliam's The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus at the time of his death. Although it was initially believed Gilliam would put the movie on hold indefinitely, Imaginarium star Christopher Plummer told People magazine Gilliam's going ahead with the film. "Fortunately, because the film deals with magic, there is a way perhaps of turning Heath into other people and then, using stills and I think they call it CGI..."
Warner Bros, which is having to deal with adjusting their advertising campaign for the studio's biggest film of 2008, did not pull trailers for the Batman thriller The Dark Knight after Ledger died. Posters with Ledger as The Joker featuring the quote 'Why So Serious?' can still be seen in promotional campaigns.
