--- description: The direct-to-video movie will world premiere at Comic-Con International in San Diego this summer title: 'Batman: The Killing Joke' Trailer Promises a Showdown image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [movies](/tag/movies/) ## movies Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # _Batman: The Killing Joke_ Trailer Promises a Dead-Serious Showdown by [Oliver Gettell / Entertainment Weekly](/author/entertainment-weekly/) ## Oliver Gettell / Entertainment Weekly Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 28, 2016 2:27 AM CUT by [Oliver Gettell / Entertainment Weekly](/author/entertainment-weekly/) ## Oliver Gettell / Entertainment Weekly Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 28, 2016 2:27 AM CUT The Dark Knight and the Clown Prince of Crime are each vying to get the last laugh — the _very_ last laugh — in the first trailer for _Batman: The Killing Joke_, the direct-to-video animated movie based on the infamous Alan Moore comic. “I’ve been thinking about you and me,” a grave Batman (voiced by Kevin Conroy) tells the Joker (Mark Hamill). “About how this is going to end. About who will end up killing who.” As the Joker bursts into diabolical laughter, the trailer glimpses some of the violent tableaux that will be instantly recognizable to readers of the original 1988 comic, which involves the Joker taunting Batman by capturing and torturing Batgirl (Tara Strong). _EW_ broke the news earlier this month that the animated adaptation [will be rated R](http://www.ew.com/article/2016/04/14/batman-killing-joke-animated-rated-r "undefined"), and Warner Bros. Animation has pledged to remain faithful to the still-polarizing story, which the company said “is revered by the fans, particularly for its blunt, often-shocking adult themes and situations.” _Batman: The Killing Joke_ will world premiere at Comic-Con International in San Diego this summer, with a release on Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital HD to follow later in the year. Watch the trailer above. [_This article originally appeared on Ew.com_](http://www.ew.com/article/2016/04/26/batman-killing-joke-trailer-animated-film "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4310573/batman-the-killing-joke-trailer/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4310573/batman-the-killing-joke-trailer/"},"headline":"Batman: The Killing Joke Trailer Promises a Dead-Serious Showdown","datePublished":"2016-04-28T02:27:03.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T17:05:55.255Z","description":"The direct-to-video movie will world premiere at Comic-Con International in San Diego this summer","url":"https://time.com/4310573/batman-the-killing-joke-trailer/","keywords":["movies"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Oliver Gettell / Entertainment Weekly"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/movies/","name":"movies"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4310573/batman-the-killing-joke-trailer/","name":"Batman: The Killing Joke Trailer Promises a Dead-Serious Showdown"}}]}] ```