A crowdfunded Batman fan film has gone viral, pulling in over 2.5 million views just days after its release on YouTube. Called Batman: Dying Is Easy, the 25-minute short is directed by Aaron Schoenke and Sean Schoenke. Michael Madsen and other celebrities also make surprise appearances in the movie. As it's free to watch on YouTube, you can watch the short in its entirety in the video below.

"Batman and Joker have always had such an interested psychological relationship, it's those dark concepts that make the characters so interesting," the movie description reads. The majority of the movie focuses on a war of words between Batman and Joker at Arkham Asylum for what could be their final encounter, as the Clown Prince of Crime learns that he is dying.

Kevin Porter plays Batman with co-director Aaron Schoenke also starring as Joker. Reservoir Dogs star Michael Madsen co-stars as GCPD detective Harvey Bullock, and his characters is featured prominently in the movie. Other celebrity cameos include Doug Jones (Hocus Pocus) as the Riddler, Casper Van Dien as Commissioner Gordon, and Chris Daughtry as Hugo Strange. Other familiar DC supervillains also appear, such as a version of Harley Quinn played by Amy Johnston.

Batman: Dying Is Easy was created after a highly-successful crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo, with over $75,000 was raised by fans for the budget. The original Indiegogo description reads: "We want to give the fans something they've always craved with these characters. A psychological, dark detective story with an almost horror film feel. This film is created by fans for the fans. This film will feature all original costumes, sets, and music score!"

The Batman fan film arrives days ahead of the premiere of Zack Snyder's Justice League on HBO Max with Ben Affleck playing the DCEU's version of Bruce Wayne. Suicide Squad star Jared Leto is also back as the Joker in the four-hour cut. Meanwhile, Affleck will reprise the role one last time in The Flash, which also brings back Batman and Batman Returns star Michael Keaton as his own incarnation of the Dark Knight. It will be a little while before we'll see them, as The Flash won't be released in theaters until Nov. 4, 2022.

Filming has also just recently wrapped on The Batman, the Dark Knight's next theatrical movie. Directed by Matt Reeves, the movie stars Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne in a standalone story with no connections to the DCEU. There's no indication Joker will be a part of the movie at this time, as Paul Dano's Riddler seems to be the movie's primary villain. We can only imagine the Clown Prince of Crime will show up in the inevitable sequel to The Batman if he doesn't first appear in the original. In any case, The Batman will be released on March 4, 2022.

It's only a matter of time before Batman and Joker are squaring off on the big screen once again. For now, Batman: Dying Is Easy serves as a must-see fan film for Batman fans to help ease the wait. The fan film was posted by batinthesun on YouTube.