Here’s your first animated look at Batman: The Killing Joke

Update: Here’s the first trailer!

If you had to compile a list of the best Joker stories ever told, The Killing Joke would most likely be the number one result across a wide variety of listicles. Possibly just ahead of that time the Joker was obsessed with boners. It’s not just one of the finest Batman stories ever told, but one of the defining tales featuring the Joker and his ongoing war with the Batman.

It’s a simple enough tale, one wherein the Joker sets out to prove that anyone can be driven to his level of insanity. All it takes, is one really bad day. That possibly involves being stripped, beaten and being given some photos of your half-naked daughter slowly bleeding to death from a gunshot wound to the gut that has left her paralysed below the waist.

A new featurette for the film (Which has since vanished) and a brief teaser for The Killing Joke has popped up online. Here’s the half-minute video featuring Mark Hamill’s creepiest Joker laugh ever:

And here’s a gallery of screenshots to go with it:

It’s an odd blend of styles. Brian Bolland’s iconic art hasn’t been wholly preserved, but enough of it is certainly there to keep up appearances. Meanwhile, the rest of the film looks like it’ll be keeping as much of the wide-angle art as intact as possible by recreating several panels in animated form. According to the removed featurette, The Killing Joke will also include more Barbara Gordon content as well as a new prologue.

It’s a film I’m genuinely looking forward to, especially after Justice League Vs Teen Titans proved to be an unexpectedly fun movie over the weekend. There’s plenty of A-grade talent behind this upcoming adaptation, that includes the best pairing of Batman and the Joker when it comes to voice actors.

Last Updated: April 4, 2016