A featured guest at the Star Wars Celebration Europe in London this weekend, actor Mark Hamill switched gears from Luke Skywalker to the Clown Prince of Crime. While he is popular among sic-fi fans for his portrayal of Darth Vader’s offspring, some would argue he has an equal following as the Joker, a role he first did in 1992 on Batman: The Animated Series opposite Kevin Conroy as the Dark Knight.
Hamill has step into the clown shoes before (so to speak) giving voice to the Joker in video games like Batman Vengeance and Batman: Arkham Asylum, as well as several DC Comics Animated series set in the “Timmverse”.
And soon he will be reprising the role in a way he and fans have only dreamed about until now. Hamill will play the Joker in The DC Animated Original Movie Batman: The Killing Joke, again opposite Conroy, giving fans what they’ve been asking for for years. But make no mistake, this one is without a doubt NOT FOR CHILDREN.
“The thing is, it’s not for kids,” Hamill states, “and I really apologize for this. It’s rated R […] but it’s really mean and nasty.” He reiterated “Kids will come up to me and say, ‘Oh, I’m so excited for “The Killing Joke,”‘ and I say, ‘Don’t you watch that!‘” You can see a portion of Hamill’s interview below:
In addition to Hamill and Conroy, actress Tara Strong will be reprising her role as Barbara Gordon/Batgirl. Batman: The Killing Joke is directed by Sam Liu and Bruce Timm, and scripted by Brian Azzarello. The film is set to debut on July 22 at San Diego Comic Con, three days before its one-night-only limited theatrical release on July 25. The Digital HD download will be available on July 26, and the Blu-ray/DVD release is schedule for Aug. 2.
