Revered movie composer Hans Zimmer was so devastated about the death of pal Heath Ledger he considered scrapping his score for the new Batman film and starting all over again.

Zimmer feared the music for scenes featuring Ledger's The Joker character was too dark and menacing - and was worried it wasn't respectful enough.

The award-winning composer tells Parade.com, "I, for a moment, was thinking, 'Oh my God, I should throw out all the music I've written for The Joker and just start over again,' which is just exactly the wrong thing to do. To honor his (Ledger) performance, I had to stick to my guns. The music has to portray the philosophy of anarchy that The Joker displays in the face of Batman's valor.

"I couldn't soften the music or compromise the evil he projects because Heath really did give such a tremendous performance. If I had taken my eye off the ball, if I had been sentimental, if I had done anything like that, it would really have not served him."

(This news article provided by World Entertainment News Network)