Batman: Dying Is Easy Fan Film Has An Epic Dark Knight vs Joker Encounter

High-budget fan film Batman: Dying Is Easy features a central face-off between The Dark Knight and The Joker and some familiar cameos. As one of the most popular DC superheroes, Batman has been played by some of the most famous names in Hollywood, from Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, and George Clooney in the 1990s, to Christian Bale in The Dark Knight trilogy and more recently Ben Affleck in Zack Snyder’s DC Extended Universe.

Robert Pattinson will be the next to take on the Caped Crusader’s mantle, with filming on The Batman expected to finish this month and due for release in March 2022. Keaton and Affleck will both return as Batman in 2022, too, with the actors playing different versions of the character in The Flash, which will introduce the multiverse to the DCEU. Neither of those movies is expected to feature the Joker, though, with DC taking a break from the character after Joker won Joaquin Phoenix the Best Actor Oscar and Jared Leto’s return in Zack Snyder’s Justice League. But it’s unlikely that he’ll be kept out of the action for long, as the conflict between The Dark Knight and the Joker is one of the most intriguing dynamics in DC lore.

But for audiences desperate to see the pair face-off on screen again, fan film Batman: Dying Is Easy will help. A fan film funded by fans and made by filmmakers Aaron and Sean Schoenke features a central psychological battle between the Dark Knight and The Joker. After an opening scene that sees Batman (Kevin Porter) take care of The Mad Hatter, the Caped Crusader is called to Arkham Asylum to witness the Joker’s (Aaron Schoenke) dying breaths. What follows is a fun, dark, and brutal short film with a twist in the tale. There are also several classic Batman character cameos from Michael Madsen as Bullock, Doug Jones as the Riddler, rocker Chris Daughtry as Hugo Strange, and Casper Van Dien as Commissioner Gordon. Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy, Killer Croc, Catwoman, Mr. Freeze, and Victor Zasz are also briefly seen in Arkham. You can watch the short film below:

The production quality is exceptional for a fan film, showing the producers but their fan-provided budget to good use, even if some of the dialogue is a little on the nose, and some of the side performers seem amateurish. The two main actors are clearly having fun, with Schoenke eating up the scenery as a very unhinged version of The Joker and Porter going as gruff as he can as a muscular and sneaky Batman.

While Batman: Dying Is Easy isn’t perfect, it’s certainly worth a watch for diehard DC fans and contains a genuinely engaging short story worthy of the Caped Crusader. It’s certainly enough to hold off those hoping to see a rogue’s gallery of villains in The Batman when it releases next year.

Source: Batinthesun/YouTube

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Daniel Gillespie
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Daniel Gillespie has been a writer and editor since 2009.

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