Batman: The Killing Joke Lands R-Rating to Stay True to Alan Moore’s Classic Tale

by | Apr 15, 2016

From Warner Bros. Animation, producer Bruce Timm and featuring stars Kevin Conroy as The Dark Knight as well as Mark Hamill reprising his famous role as The Joker comes Batman: The Killing Joke. The animated feature is slated to hit DVD/Blu-ray and digital in late 2016.

EW has confirmed that the upcoming direct to video animated adaptation of the beloved classic mini-series Batman: The Killing Joke will indeed be rated R.  The original comic which was published in 1988 was written by the legendary Alan Moore and drawn by Brian Bolland. The series focuses on The Joker’s origin story and is widely hailed as one of the greatest comic series ever made.

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“From the start of production, we encouraged producer Bruce Timm and our team at Warner Bros. Animation to remain faithful to the original story — regardless of the eventual MPAA rating, ’The Killing Joke’ is revered by the fans, particularly for its blunt, often-shocking adult themes and situations. We felt it was our responsibility to present our core audience — the comics-loving community — with an animated film that authentically represented the tale they know all too well.”said Sam Register, president of Warner Bros. Animation & Warner Digital Series.