"Batman: The Killing Joke" marks first R-rated cartoon for DC

Warner Bros. Animation's next big page-to-screen adaptation, fan favorite "Batman: The Killing Joke" has become the first project from the animation company to receive an R-rating,

Reps for Warner Bros. tell Entertainment Weekly that producers of the project were instructed to keep the material faithful to the edgy and groundbreaking comic, written by "Watchmen" scribe Alan Moore, despite concerns over how the MPAA would view the material.

"From the start of production, we encouraged producer Bruce Timm and our team at Warner Bros. Animation to remain faithful to the original story -- regardless of the eventual MPAA rating," Sam Register, president of Warner Bros. Animation & Warner Digital Series, said in a statement. "'The Killing Joke' is revered by the fans, particularly for its blunt, often-shocking adult themes and situations. We felt it was our responsibility to present our core audience -- the comics-loving community -- with an animated film that authentically represented the tale they know all too well."

The film, which features the voices of Mark Hamill as the Joker and Kevin Conroy as Batman, will premiere at San Diego Comic-Con in July before being released on Blu-ray, DVD and Digital HD later in the year.

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