Last night’sComic-Confestivities came to a close with the world premiere screening of Warner Bros.' highly-anticipated animated adaptation ofBatman: The Killing Joke, which will debut in theaters through Fathom Events on Monday, July 25 before arriving on Blu-ray and DVD August 12. During this panel and screening, Warner Bros. also confirmed the next three DC Universe Original Movies,Justice League: Dark,Teen Titans: The Judas ContractandBatman and Harley Quinn, all slated for release in 2017. No voice cast members have been announced quite yet, but these adaptations will surely be welcomed additions to the DC Universe Original Movies lineup.
TheDC Comics Blogannounced the news last night, following theBatman: The Killing Jokepanel. While no specific release dates were given, the first project out of the gate will beJustice League Dark, an adaptation of the popular comic book series that will bringJohn Constantineto the world of animation for the first time in a supernatural story that promises plenty of mystery and thrills, along with an amazing voice cast. While Constantine’s world of demons and magic are an important part of the DC Universe, it’s been largely unexplored in DC’s connected universe of animated movies until now.Justice League Darkwas originally being conceived as a live-action movie with directorGuillermo del Toro, but now they will adapt this story as an animated movie.
Teen Titans: The Judas Contractwill follow in the spring and will serve as something of a follow-up to last year’sJustice League vs. Teen Titans.The Judas Contractdebuted in 1984 in the pages of New Teen Titans, when the Titans' comic book popularity was at its height. Written byMarv Wolfmanand drawn byGeorge Perez, it introduced the perhaps not-to-be-trusted Terra to the Teen Titans and was the storyline in which Dick Grayson first adopted the identity of Nightwing.The Judas Contractwas one of the most popular comic book storylines of its year and is continually ranked among the greatest Teen Titans stories ever told.
Finally, the 2017 lineup ofDC UniverseOriginal Movies concludes withBatman and Harley Quinn, a brand new, wholly original story from DC animation legendBruce Timm. The storyline for this one is tightly under wraps, but considering Timm’s beloved style and complete understanding of both these classic characters, fans can expect this movie to be the talk of next summer. While it hasn’t been confirmed, it’s possible thatBatman and Harley Quinncould very well be the animated movie that has its world premiere at next year’s Comic-Con.
Batman: The Killing Jokemade history as the firstR-ratedDC Universe movie, but we don’t know for sure if any of these upcoming movies will follow suit and be crafted as R-rated movies. The studio hasn’t announced any writers, directors or voice cast members for any of these movies, quite yet, and it isn’t known if an DC Universe veterans will return to voice their iconic roles. Stay tuned for more updates on all three of these movies.
