| Batman: Dying Is Easy | |
|---|---|
 Promotional poster | |
| Directed by |
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| Written by | Aaron Schoenke |
| Based on | Characters byBob Kane Bill Finger |
| Produced by |
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| Starring |
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| Cinematography | Aric Abraham |
| Edited by | Aaron Schoenke |
| Music by | Sean Schoenke |
Production company | Bat in the Sun |
| Distributed by | Bat in the Sun YouTube |
Release date |
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Running time | 26 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | US$75,907[1] |
Batman: Dying Is Easy is a 2021superherofan film directed byAaron and Sean Schoenke, based on theBatman franchise. It stars Kevin Porter asBatman and Aaron Schoenke asthe Joker. The film is the third Batman fan film by the Schoenke brothers afterCity of Scars (2010) andSeeds of Arkham (2011).[1][2][3][4]
Batman: Dying Is Easy wascrowdfunded throughIndiegogo and uploaded onYouTube on March 11, 2021.[1][3][5]
While investigating the disappearance of threeGotham City Police officers,Batman raids theMad Hatter's hideout and rescues a girl forced to dress asAlice. Two months later, he is informed byLieutenant Harvey Bullock that theJoker is dying and wishes to see him.
Upon Batman's arrival atArkham Asylum, the Joker tells him he is suffering frommelanoma due to his chemical accident, and he wants Batman to kill him as a fitting end to his legacy. Batman walks away, but the Joker taunts him by reminding him of thedeath of Jason Todd and thecrippling of Barbara Gordon. An enraged Batman wraps a chain around the Joker's neck and hangs him, telling him how irrelevant he has become as a criminal. With nothing left to say, the Joker confesses to murdering the three missing officers and leaving their bodies at O'Neil's Toyland. Batman lets go of the Joker, revealing that he made him confess by falsifying his toxicology report and poisoning his water supply for weeks to make him believe he had a terminal illness. In addition, Batman knew the Joker was responsible for the disappearance of the officers when he discovered apolice baton with the Joker's fingerprints on it during his raid on the Mad Hatter's hideout.
As Gotham City Police recovers the corpses of the missing officers, Bullock confronts Batman over being manipulated during the Dark Knight's investigation. Before disappearing from Bullock's presence, Batman reveals that the officers were already dead from the beginning, but did not disclose that fact to take away hope so their families could heal and move on.
A sequelKickstarter was about to be launched, but it was put on hold following the death ofKevin Conroy, who voiced Batman in several animation and video game series for 30 years. Aaron Schoenke said that he would wait for weeks and did not want to seem like they were capitalizing on Conroy's death. This lasted until November 19, 2022, when his friendJason David Frank died. Schoenke decided to focus onLegend of the White Dragon in honor of Frank.[6]