Friday was a huge day at Comic Con International in San Diego for franchises like Star Wars, The Walking Dead and Game of Thrones. However, it also featured potentially one of the most exciting announcements of the day during the Justice League: Gods and Monsters premier in Ballroom 20.

Despite Warner Bros. movie panel being tomorrow at 10, Bruce Timm announced that he would be working on an adaptation of Alan Moore and Brian Bolland’s “The Killing Joke” as a DC Animated Film, set for release in 2016.

The panel included voice talent: Tamara Taylor, C. Thomas Howell, and Paget Brewster, executive producer Bruce Timm, director Sam Liu, writer/producer Alan Burnett, dialogue director Andrea Romano, and moderator Victor Lucas.

Alan Moore and Brian Bolland’s killing joke is regarded as one of the absolute must reads among critic and fellow comic book readers. The story sees the Joker tormenting Jim Gordon and is famous for its depiction of Barbara Gordon being paralyzed after a bullet severs her spine, giving rise to her alter ego: Oracle.

The graphic novel has been criticized because of its depiction of a nude Barbara, which many suggest implies that the Joker raped her. The controversy regarding this series is still highly debated today, even causing Rafael Albuquerque to cancel his “Batgirl” #41 variant cover which served as a homage to the iconic story.

However, perhaps most excitingly, Mark Hamill took to twitter in 2011 citing that he would reprise his role as the Clown Prince of Crime if The Killing Joke was made into a DC Animated Film.

With Timm spearheading the project, can audiences expect to see Hamill step back into the role along with Kevin Conroy as Batman? Stay tuned to BCP for the latest updates.

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The writer of this piece is: Laurence Almalvez
Laurence has previously written over at Whatculture.com.
Laurence tweets from @IL1511

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