The Killing Joke Animated Film Might Be Rated R

[Fanghawk]

The Killing Joke Animated Film Might Be Rated R

DC Comics has given The Killing Joke's director permission to aim for an R rating if it suits the film.

Of all DC's graphic novels <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/tag/view/the%20killing%20joke?os=the+killing+joke>The Killing Joke is among the most popular and controversial. Not only did it craft a highly memorable Joker origin story, it featured one of the darkest events in Batman lore: Batgirl Barbara Gordon being paralyzed and sexually assaulted by Joker. What's surprising is DC seems willing to include this content in The Killing Joke animated movie, even if that means creating <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/tag/view/dc%20entertainment?os=dc+entertainment>DC Entertainment's first R rated film.

According to producer James Tucker, speaking at New York Comic-Con, Warner Bros. gave permission for The Killing Joke to receive an R rating. To be clear, that doesn't mean The Killing Joke will get a mature rating - only that director Sam Liu is free to do so. "What rating it gets won't be decided for a long time," Tucker <a href=https://twitter.com/JTuckerAnimator/status/652713108843167744>later confirmed on Twitter.

Here's where we get into interesting territory. On the one hand, The Killing Joke probably can't be adapted faithfully without the R rating - at least not without heavily toning down the violence Barbara experiences. But actually going through with it has commercial implications, since previous DC animated films were marketed to PG-13 audiences. That said, <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/moviesandtv/reviews/13777-Batman-Vs-Robin-DC-Entertainment-Review#&gid=gallery_4027&pid=1>DC's latest films increasingly suggest it wants to explore mature content. The Killing Joke might mark where DC Entertainment throws any PG-13 pretenses aside, at least for its superhero film line. The question the is whether Batman's mature audience is large enough to warrant the shift.

It's an important question, because DC plans to make The Killing Joke whatever the rating turns out to be. It even convinced Mark Hamill to bring back his Joker voice, which he'd retired after Arkham City. What do you think? Would you watch an R rated The Killing Joke, or are DC's animated films getting too dark as it is?

Source: GamesRadar

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[kenu12345]

As it should be, as the article said, you can't do this story justice unless it is R rated and anything less would probably horribly downplay the horribleness of whats happening or just tell you it happened

 

[Frankster]

R rating for killing joke seems a no brainer.

It's been a long time since I've read the comic but wtf is this about Barbara Gordon being sexually assaulted?
I vaguely remember both her and gordon being stripped naked at some points, but don't recall anything more then that.

Otherwise boo to this "dc films getting too dark" suggestion, no, I was actually quite pleasantly surprised by the violence of some of the more recent DC animated film and appreciated it because violence is messy and horrible, it shouldn't be portrayed as having no consequences or things you can just shake off after being unconscious for 5 mins.
I feel sanitizing violence is actually counter productive for all sorts of reasons and DC films are hardly aimed at a young kid demographic anyway so no reason we should be coddled.

 

[09philj]

It's been a long time since I've read the comic but wtf is this about Barbara Gordon being sexually assaulted? I vaguely remember both her and gordon being stripped naked at some points, but don't recall anything more then that.

Joker shoots her through the spine and then strips her naked and photographs her. I suppose the second part might count as sexual assault.

 

[Frankster]

Joker shoots her through the spine and then strips her naked and photographs her. I suppose the second part might count as sexual assault.

So I remembered it right then. In that case...Wtf does it count as sexual assault for Barbara and not Gordon?
They were both stripped naked and mentally tortured and abused way I remembered it. And Joker had the same amount of sexual desire/gratification from both, which is to say: none.

Edit: Looked up the metropolitan police (london since am english) definition of sexual assault:

What is sexual assault?

A person commits sexual assault if they intentionally touch another person, the touching is sexual and the person does not consent.
What is a serious sexual assault?

Assault by penetration - a person commits assault by penetration if they intentionally penetrate the vagina or anus of another person with a part of the body or anything else, without their consent.

Unless americans use a different definition, whilst Joker did intentionally touch both Gordon and Barbara without their consent, I really doubt he had a boner as he was doing it and he certainly wasn't shown to be feeling anyone up.
So yeah, sexual assault is a tad dramatic here, Joker stripped them to humiliate and torture rather then because he wanted to see barb's boobs or gordon's member.

 

[RJ 17]

It even convinced Mark Hamill to bring back his Joker voice, which he'd retired after Arkham City.

Apparently someone hasn't played Arkham Knight.

Then again, thanks to the botched PC release, apparently many people haven't played Arkham Knight. Hey-oooohhhhhh!

OT: If you're not going for an R rated rendition of this story, it's best not to do it at all. Considering how iconic this particular story is in the Batman franchise, if they try to water it down any I'd imagine there'd be a fan backlash.

 

[Fappy]

I always heard the Killing Joke was overhyped and actually not that great. Read and loved other Alan Moore works but never got around to this one.

 

[Jaggededge11]

When it comes to the animated movies, I fully trust DC to make something spectacular. Their theatrical releases on the other hand...

 

[09philj]

I always heard the Killing Joke was overhyped and actually not that great. Read and loved other Alan Moore works but never got around to this one.

Its fairly good. It's best to get hold of the recolour with black, white, and red flashbacks. Worth it for the art alone.

 

[Objectable]

But will retain the original awful colors? Or the remastered coloring?

 

[SlumlordThanatos]

Don't care, Mark Hamill is doing his Joker voice again. I'll probably watch it.

 

[Silentpony_v1legacy]

Well I should hope so! I'd be worried if it was rated G!

 

[Diablo1099_v1legacy]

But will retain the original awful colors? Or the remastered coloring?

They should totally do a DVD/Blu-Ray special feature to have the colors be as shit as it was in the first edition

 

[Quellist]

Good that the R rating has been approved. This was a dark, dark story and it should be told respectfully

 

[Thaluikhain]

Unless americans use a different definition, whilst Joker did intentionally touch both Gordon and Barbara without their consent, I really doubt he had a boner as he was doing it and he certainly wasn't shown to be feeling anyone up.
So yeah, sexual assault is a tad dramatic here, Joker stripped them to humiliate and torture rather then because he wanted to see barb's boobs or gordon's member.

Disagree there, but in any case, IIRC, he poses her in sexual ways while taking photos of her. Also, it's supposed to be implied that he might have raped her while doing so, though it's not clear in the comic itself.

 

[MatParker116]

Don't care, Mark Hamill is doing his Joker voice again. I'll probably watch it.

Looking forward to hearing this:

"So... I see you received the free ticket I sent you. I'm glad. I did so want you to be here. You see it doesn't matter if you catch me and send me back to the asylum... Gordon's been driven mad. I've proved my point. I've demonstrated there's no difference between me and everyone else! All it takes is one bad day to reduce the sanest man alive to lunacy. That's how far the world is from where I am. Just one bad day. You had a bad day once, am I right? I know I am. I can tell. You had a bad day and everything changed. Why else would you dress up as a flying rat? You had a bad day, and it drove you as crazy as everybody else... Only you won't admit it! You have to keep pretending that life makes sense, that there's some point to all this struggling! God you make me want to puke. I mean, what is it with you? What made you what you are? Girlfriend killed by the mob, maybe? Brother carved up by some mugger? Something like that, I bet. Something like that... Something like that happened to me, you know. I... I'm not exactly sure what it was. Sometimes I remember it one way, sometimes another... If I'm going to have a past, I prefer it to be multiple choice! Ha ha ha! But my point is... My point is, I went crazy. When I saw what a black, awful joke the world was, I went crazy as a coot! I admit it! Why can't you? I mean, you're not unintelligent! You must see the reality of the situation. Do you know how many times we've come close to world war three over a flock of geese on a computer screen? Do you know what triggered the last world war? An argument over how many telegraph poles Germany owed its war debt creditors! Telegraph poles! Ha ha ha ha HA! It's all a joke! Everything anybody ever valued or struggled for... it's all a monstrous, demented gag! So why can't you see the funny side? Why aren't you laughing?"

 

[Redryhno]

R rating for killing joke seems a no brainer.

It's been a long time since I've read the comic but wtf is this about Barbara Gordon being sexually assaulted?
I vaguely remember both her and gordon being stripped naked at some points, but don't recall anything more then that.

Sorta depends on who you ask honestly. It's sorta become popular the last few years to talk about how since pictures were taken, she was also obviously raped. Though I don't get why they seem to forget Gordon's entire ordeal being recorded(I think? It's been a few years for me too). Kinda like how people talk about Miller's DKR part one having Batman be the super planner that gets out of everything unscathed and how boring it is when he really does nothing but fuck up in little ways that have large consequences throughout the comic.

I always heard the Killing Joke was overhyped and actually not that great. Read and loved other Alan Moore works but never got around to this one.

Very much worth reading, also sorta spawned some of the best ideas in Batman comics for the next twenty years give or take with the focus on Batman as a background character or just a way to drive the plot forward while Wayne and Co. were the interesting bits..

 

[Samtemdo8_v1legacy]

Don't care, Mark Hamill is doing his Joker voice again. I'll probably watch it.

REALLY IS IT CONFIRMED!?

 

[Samtemdo8_v1legacy]

R rating for killing joke seems a no brainer.

It's been a long time since I've read the comic but wtf is this about Barbara Gordon being sexually assaulted?
I vaguely remember both her and gordon being stripped naked at some points, but don't recall anything more then that.

Otherwise boo to this "dc films getting too dark" suggestion, no, I was actually quite pleasantly surprised by the violence of some of the more recent DC animated film and appreciated it because violence is messy and horrible, it shouldn't be portrayed as having no consequences or things you can just shake off after being unconscious for 5 mins.
I feel sanitizing violence is actually counter productive for all sorts of reasons and DC films are hardly aimed at a young kid demographic anyway so no reason we should be coddled.

Which is exactly I why prefer DC over Marvel and I hate it when people like Moviebob, Linkara, and others criticizes DC for being too "Dark"

That whole "Dark Age of Comics" thing and Moviebob bashing on the Death of Superman comics is something I was against.

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

Mark Hamill in an R rated Joker performance is like all of my Batman related dreams coming true. That voice was terrifying when it was doing PG levels of violence on the screen. o.o