Guillermo del Toro has been updating fans on the status of a possible live-action Justice League Dark adaptation for years, but the relatively obscure property might now be seeing the light of day ... as an animated feature. With Warner Bros.' and DC Entertainment's upcoming R-rated animated adaptation Batman: The Killing Joke due to premiere at Comic-Con before making its way to home video, it seems that a listing of the movie's bonus features has revealed the studio's next animated project.

As Comicbook.com brought to our attention, the British Board of Film Classification's site has listed "A Sneak Peek at Justice League Dark" under their bonus content for Batman: The Killing Joke. Now that's far from an official confirmation, especially since two other entries for Batman: The Killing Joke list "sneak peeks" for The Dark Knight Returns: Part 1 and Part 2, which came out in 2012 and 2013, respectively. Perhaps these were just placeholders, but does that mean there's any more validity to Justice League Dark being the next animated adaptation?


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Image via Vertigo

This is the first we've heard of the DC Comics property that includes John Constantine, Deadman, Zatanna and more in an animated capacity, though there have been years worth of rumors and updates for a possible live-action version of the property. The title "Justice League Dark" debuted in the fall of 2011 in the comics and featured a team of the more supernaturally experienced heroes of the DC Comics collection taking on tasks deemed unfit for the Justice League. The move brought offbeat, occult-focused characters and stories back into the DC fold and away from their Vertigo imprint, where that had become a staple of their storytelling.

The story that led up to The New 52 launch kicked off this series with an arc that saw Constantine searching for Alec Holland, a.k.a. Swamp Thing. That's just one of a number of stories that an animated adaptation could conceivably tackle, though it would probably make the most sense to go with the formation of the Justice League Dark team after Enchantress's defeat of the Justice League proper. If DC Entertainment and Warner Bros. knock out a solid origin story with this first feature, perhaps that will further open the doors for future sequels and maybe even the long-awaited live-action adaptation. (Or at least just another live-action Swamp Thing movie; fingers crossed.)


For more news on that front, check out some of our coverage of Justice League Dark below:

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Image via Vertigo