During the world premiere of Justice League: Gods and Monsters at Comic-Con, Bruce W. Timm revealed that the next DC Universe Original Movie will be an adaptation of Batman: The Killing Joke. He also announced that the animated movie will feature, "an original 15-minute prologue that helps set up the story, giving even longtime fans something new to look forward to." No voice cast members were announced at the time, but today Collider reports that Mark Hamill has signed on to voice The Joker.

The actor revealed on his own Twitter page earlier this month that he had his "fingers crossed" for the opportunity to come back and voice The Joker. The actor had previously voiced the nefarious villain in Batman: The Animated Series and the Batman: Arkham video game series. While unconfirmed by the studio, this report reveals that the actor has already started recording his voice work for Batman: The Killing Joke, which is slated for a direct-to-video release sometime next year.

Batman: The Killing Joke is a beloved graphic novel written by Alan Moore and drawn by Brian Bolland, which was published in 1988. The plot offers one of the few origin stories for The Joker, where he has a theory that one bad day can drive any man insane, which he tests on James Gordon. The story also features Barbara Gordon becoming paralyzed, for a period of time, leading to her retiring as Batgirl. It isn't known how faithful this adaptation will be to the source material, or how much will be changed.

Bruce W. Timm is serving as an executive producer on Batman: The Killing Joke, but it hasn't been announced yet who will write and direct. If Mark Hamill is actually confirmed, then it's possible they could try to bring back Kevin Conroy and Melissa Gilbert, who could both reprise their roles as Batman and Barbara Gordon from Batman: The Animated Series. That's only speculation at this point, but hopefully we'll learn more about the project very soon.

Mark Hamill will next be seen reprising his role as Luke Skywalker in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and he recently starred in the blockbuster Kingsman: The Secret Service. What do you think of Mark Hamill coming back to voice The Joker in Batman: The Killing Joke? While we wait for more details, chime in with your thoughts, and check out Mark Hamill's Tweet from earlier this month.