Alan Moore's Batman: The Killing Joke is arguably one of the few stories in the Batman graphic novel universe that has made such a mark that it became an icon in comics. The 1988 comic created a new brand of darkness for the characters that influenced how people saw the story of The Dark Knight and his archenemy.
This July, fans will finally see the comic's story in the spotlight with an animated adaptation, and obviously everyone's very excited to see it. Even without reading the comic, the trailer alone should convince you:
However, the delay begs the question why it took this long for one to be created.
Well, producer Bruce Timm has revealed exactly why this is so.
In a recent interview with Empire for the release of Batman: The Killing Joke, Timm explained that it all boiled down to the erratic culture in the film industry, which made it hard for the team to take risks.
He said:
...Right around the time we were ramping up, the Watchmen movie was released and underperformed.
Everybody kind of took a step back and said, ‘Well, maybe the time's not right for an R-rated superhero movie, so put it on the shelf.'
A couple of years later, it came up again and we even had started production with character designs and stuff. But then that horrible shooting at the Dark Knight Rises theater happened and everybody got nervous again about it, because of gun violence, so we put it back on the shelf.
As hard as it is to swallow the reality of the box office industry, we must admit that, when it comes down to it, it's all still business. The real world will always have a dramatic influence in any situation, be it creative or otherwise. It's understandable how the performance of 2009's Watchmen, which hadn't been stellar to say the least, suspended the creation of The Killing Joke for years. Add to that the tragic shooting incident in Colorado during The Dark Knight Rises premiere, it's certainly a no-brainer why putting a dark story in film.
It's worth noting that The Killing Joke is an animated movie, and its effects on viewers may not be as dramatic as a live-action adaptation. Nevertheless, the effects are still real, and it always pays to take caution. We're just thankful that a movie is being made, with icons like Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill even returning their respective roles.
Batman: The Killing Joke will be available on Digital HD on July 23, while its Blu-Ray/DVD release will be on August 2.
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