BATMAN: THE KILLING JOKE Animated Film Gets a Release Date!
The release date for the highly anticipated animated film adaptation of Batman: The Killing Joke has been revealed! Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has announced that the adaptation will be available to purchase on Blu-ray and DVD on August 2nd, 2016. If you don't want to wait until August to watch it, the film will available on Digital HD on July 23rd. It's also set to premiere at San Diego Comic-Con, which is something I'm looking forward to attending.
The deluxe Blu-ray edition of the film will include the following extras and special features:
- One episode each from The New Batman Adventures and Batman: The Animated Series
- Madness Set to Music - a documentary focusing on the film's storyboards and score
- Many Shades of the Joker: The Tale of the Killing Joke - a short that examines the making of the graphic novel from Alan Moore and Brian Bolland
- Limited Edition Joker figurine
The Sam Lui-directed and Bruce Timm-produced film was slapped with an R-rating, which fans seem to be happy about. Mark Hamill and Kevin Conroy are back to provide the voices of the Joker and Batman, respectively. Tara Strong voices Barbara Gordon.
Written by Alan Moore and drawn by Brian Bolland, Batman: The Killing Joke was published in 1988 and is widely considered to be one of the best comic book stories of all time. The graphic novel offers a version of the Joker’s origin story and follows as the Clown Prince of Crime terrorizes Commissioner Jim Gordon and ultimate paralyzes his daughter, Barbara Gordon. Although the story was not originally supposed to take place in the regular DC Comics continuity, The Killing Joke wound up setting in motion the events that would lead to Barbara Gordon becoming Oracle.
If you want to watch the trailer for the film again, click here.