The 'Batman' Movies Could Have Their First R-Rated Feature

'The Killing Joke' has been approved for an R-rating.

San Diego Comic Con had some big reveals. One of them was that the comic Batman: The Killing Joke will be animated next in the DC Universe. Mark Hamill, 'Joker' voice actor legend, will return to voice the character. But the story of this particular comic is dark, and it begs the question: how dark can this one go on the big screen?

Apparently, as dark as they want. The Killing Joke has been approved for an R-rating. It doesn't have to have one, but that means that producer James Tucker can get as depraved as he wants, if depraved is what he wants to get.

This would be the first R-rated Batman film and likely the most intense to this point. Nolan's Batman​ was pretty raw, even without the R-rating, so it's not so likely that this movie will take the edgy route. But it's a shocker that DC and Warner Bros. are giving the go-ahead to get dirty and dark, and it's exciting to see if this will be a trend in giving creatives more freedom.

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