“Batman: The Killing Joke” DVD/Blu-Ray Gets Release Date

Leave it to Amazon to be among the first to take orders for a highly anticipated film. The online shopping behemoth has made Batman: The Killing Joke animated feature film available for pre-order. Amazon shows a release date of August 2nd, which is shortly after it will debuted at this year’s Comic Con International: San Diego (SDCC). Digital retailers will begin selling the digital HD version of the film on July 23.

Batman The Killing Joke DVDBatman: The Killing Joke is available for pre-order through Amazon. The Blu-Ray, which will also include a DVD version and a digital HD download, is available for $24.98The DVD version is available for $14.99. The movie is rated R due to its graphic violence and images. The movie will be released on Tuesday, August 2nd.

While these two pre-orders have been made available, expect other packaging and exclusives from various retailers. Warner Bros. has stated that in addition to two 22-minute episodes from The New Batman Adventures and Batman: The Animated Series, the deluxe edition and combo pack versions will include two featurettes: Madness Set to Music, a documentary which chronicles the creation of the film’s storyboards and original score, and Many Shades of the Joker: The Tale of the Killing Joke, a making-of short that explores the distinct style of the graphic novel. Fans who purchase the combo pack Blu-ray edition will also receive a limited edition figurine of the Joker.

“Batman: The Killing Joke presents, for the first time, one of the most compelling stories in the annals of Batman’s adventures: the evolution of the Joker from normalcy to criminal insanity, in all its graphic presentation as an R-rated animated film,” Mary Ellen Thomas, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Vice President, Family & Animation Marketing, said of the project in a statement. “Warner Bros. Home Entertainment is proud to release Batman: The Killing Joke as an authentic representation of its revered story for both longtime fans and new fans alike.”

Here’s the first trailer that has been released of the upcoming Batman: The Killing Joke animated film…

Information and synopsis of Batman: The Killing Joke

Batman: The Killing Joke, one of the best-selling graphic novels in history, tells the tale of The Joker’s origin story – from his humble beginnings as a struggling comic, to his fateful encounter with Batman that changes both of their lives forever. Actors Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill reprise their Batman: The Animated Series roles as Batman and The Joker, respectively.

A two-time Eisner Award winner written by renowned comics author Alan Moore, Batman: The Killing Joke has maintained an unparalleled popularity throughout its 28 years of existence – as evidenced by its ranking as the best-selling graphic novel of 2015. Batman: The Killing Joke was greenlit in 2013 and announced in July 2015 at Comic Con International in San Diego.

Batman: The Killing Joke also features the voices of Tara Strong (Teen Titans; Batman: Arkham games), as Barbara Gordon and Ray Wise (Twin Peaks, RoboCop) as Commissioner Gordon. Warner Bros. Home Entertainment will host the film’s World Premiere at Comic-Con International this summer, and see a subsequent release in 2016 on Blu-ray Combo Pack, DVD and Digital HD.