Confirmed – BATMAN: THE KILLING JOKE Animated Movie Will Be Rated R

DC’s next animated movie will be Batman: The Killing Joke, an adaptation of one of the most polarizing Batman graphic novels to date. The story serves as an origin for the Joker, who goes on to paralyze Barbara Gordon and engage in many heinous acts.

In fact, at New York Comic-Con last year, producer James Tucker said that DC Entertainment gave the crew permission to make The Killing Joke with an R-rating. This makes sense, given the adult-oriented material in the comic. And now, the R-rating has been confirmed.

Warner Bros. Animation has confirmed to Entertainment Weekly that The Killing Joke will indeed be rated R. This is a first for DC’s animated titles; all of the previous movies, even the particularly violent ones, were all PG-13. There are no plans to release a PG-13 cut for The Killing Joke.

WBA president Sam Register had this to say about the rating. “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.”

Batman: The Killing Joke stars Kevin Conroy as Batman, Mark Hamill as The Joker, Tara Strong as Barbara Gordon, and Ray Wise as Jim Gordon. The film will premiere at San Diego Comic-Con in July, and it will later be released on home video. Stay tuned for more news as we have it.