Watch Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker

Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker is an animated film that was released on December 12, 2000. The movie was not released in theaters, and was instead delivered directly to home video by Warner Brothers Animation Studios. It runs for 77 minutes and the story revolves around Batman and the Joker, two of the most iconic comic book characters of all time. The film was directed by Curt Geda and it received a PG-13 rating for excessive violence. Originally, it was much more violent, but a lot had to be trimmed down to secure the PG-13 rating. It stars Kevin Conroy as the voice of Bruce Wayne and Will Friedle as Terry McGinnis. Both of them use the alter-ego, Batman. Additionally, Mark Hamill reprises his role as the voice of the Joker.

The Batman Beyond series also takes place in the not too distant future, where Bruce Wayne is retired and Terry McGinnis is the new Batman. The story takes place in Batman's hometown of Gotham City, where the Joker returns after 40 years from when he was thought to be destroyed. The first thing he does is leads the gang his reputation inspired and they are called the Jokerz. Together they perform robberies and soon run into Batman. After Bruce Wayne learns of the news, he is shocked and insists on donning the bat suit once more to help Terry McGinnis. While stopping the Joker and his gang of Jokerz, the plot delves into the mystery of what exactly happened to the Joker all those years ago. Along the way old characters from the standard Batman canon are featured. Batgirls and a few characters who portrayed Robin are included to help unravel the truth as to what the Joker has planned.