Warner Bros. Animation has finally released the full trailer for "Batman: The Killing Joke," and although the trailer is only a minute and a half long it reveals just how faithful the animated film will be to the graphic novel source material. It also gives audiences a glimpse of the violence and level of evil that Mark Hamill's Joker embodies.
As stated in a report from Screen Rant, the trailer focuses on a dialogue exchange between the Joker and Batman (Kevin Conroy) as the latter acknowledges that in the end it will boil down to one of them killing the other. Batman also confirms that in the end only one of them will survive, hinting that if the Batman ever does kill someone it will likely be the Joker.
While the Batman delivers these lines the trailer gives short glimpses of the level of violence and menacing themes that the movie will focus on, showing snippets of Barbara Gordon (Tara Strong) and her father, Commissioner James Gordon (Ray Wise), being captured and tortured by the Joker.
"The Killing Joke" will also delve into a few flashbacks and reveal one story on how the Joker became the criminal he is known as today. Clips of these flashbacks can also be seen in the trailer.
The report also points out that the trailer does showcase how closely the animation style of the film sticks to the original art style in the graphic novel, updating the style just enough to properly fit an animated film. Many of the character designs appear to be lifted directly from the graphic novel, with only a faint touch coming from the "Batman: The Animated Series" art style.
"Batman: The Killing Joke" is an R-rated animated film and is scheduled to premiere during the San Diego Comic-Con this summer and then be released for home video sometime later in the year.
