Bruce Timm’s latest animated movie, Justice League: Gods and Monsters, might have had its World Premiere in front of thousands of Comic-Con attendees. But being the very first to see Timm’s radical new take on the Justice League was only one of the treats they received as Warner Bros. revealed the three DC Universe Original Movies that will be released in 2016, including an adaptation of the classic Joker story, Batman: The Killing Joke.
Batman: The Killing Joke is the seminal graphic novel written by Alan Moore and drawn by Brian Bolland that offers up a potential (but not exactly trustworthy) origin for the Joker, and that led to a paralyzed Barbara Gordon to retire as Batgirl…temporarily. For years, it’s been one of the most regularly requested animated films by fans.
The animated adaptation of Batman: The Killing Joke is executive produced by Bruce Timm and will retell this classic tale in an exciting new way. It’ll also feature an original 15-minute prologue that helps set up the story, giving even longtime fans of the story something new to look forward to.
In addition, two other animated movies were announced:
Batman: Bad Blood—An original Batman story that features the introduction of Batwoman to the new line of animated films.
Justice League vs. Titans—Another original story and the first of the DC Universe Original Movies to feature the Teen Titans.
While the Killing Joke isn’t the first classic DC graphic novel to be adapted into an animated film – Frank Miller’s Batman: The Dark Knight Returns and Batman: Year One, as well as Darwyn Cooke’s The New Frontier, have also received the animated treatment – the timing couldn’t be better to coincide with the Joker’s 75th Anniversary this year.