By Brandon T. McClure
After the tragic passing of iconic Batman voice actor Kevin Conroy, Rocksteady Studios revealed that he had reprised his role of the Arkhamverse Batman in the upcoming video game Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. With no confirmed future appearances, the narrative quickly spread that this would be his final time voicing the character that defined a generation. Unfortunately for fans, this was also a video game where players had to kill Batman along with the other members of the Justice League. It wasn’t exactly the triumphant last hurrah that many wanted. But Rocksteady might have some good news to help cool down the controversy surrounding their game. It now seems like he may be appearing in at least one more DC project.
Kevin Conroy started voicing Batman in 1992 with the launch of Batman: The Animated Series (B:TAS). He went on to become the most prolific Batman voice actor, continuing to voice Batman throughout the DC Animated Universe (DCAU), making vocal cameos in unrelated Batman animated shows and films, and even playing a live-action Bruce Wayne in the five-part Arrowverse crossover event “Crisis on Infinite Earths.” To say that he’s iconic would be the understatement of the century. The role meant so much to him as he continued to pour his heart and soul into the character for more than 30 years. He was able to tell his story in the beautiful “Finding Batman” short story, illustrated by J. Bone, collected in the 2022 DC Pride Special.
In 2009, Kevin Conroy teamed up with Rocksteady Studios to star in the video game Batman: Arkham Asylum. The game became an instant classic as Conroy proved once again that he was the definitive Batman. He reprised this specific Batman two more times in Batman: Arkham City and Batman: Arkham Knight (collectively known as the Arkhamverse). As the final installment in the trilogy, Batman: Arkham Knight seemingly ends with his death. He somberly walks into his mansion seconds before it explodes with him and Alfred inside. While it was obviously meant to be a fake-out, the game was the definitive ending for this version of Batman. So it came as a major surprise when it was revealed that, not only would Kevin Conroy be voicing Batman in Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, but the game would be set in the Arkhamverse, set after the events of Batman: Arkham Knight.
Fans were, of course, excited to get a new performance from Kevin Conroy. He and Rocksteady Studios had a great working relationship and he was probably more than happy to return. The opportunity to play an evil version of Batman (because he’s controlled by Brainiac) probably appealed to him for many reasons. But it kind of sucks that his final time voicing the character that meant so much to fans is in a game where those same fans have to kill him. Admittedly, it’s not Rocksteady’s fault, they didn’t know he was going to die when they recorded his lines. Unfortunately, due to Conroy’s passing, Rocksteady developed a target on their back. Fans were unfairly calling the game disrespectful to Kevin Conroy’s legacy. Lucky for them, IGN is now reporting that he had been able to record lines for the upcoming animated film Justice League: Crisis On Infinite Earths - Part 3.
At one point everyone at Warner Bros. wanted to do an adaptation of Marv Wolfman and George Pérez’s hugely influential comic book Crisis On Infinite Earths. Notably, the Arrowverse, which consisted of shows such as Arrow, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, and more, beat everyone to it. Walter Hamada, the former president of DC Films, for example, was reportedly interested in developing a big-screen adaptation with one of the various endings to The Flash (the movie) supposedly setting up that storyline. An animated version of the story was rumored for many years before it was confirmed at the 2023 San Diego Comic-Con. The original rumor was that this adaptation would bring together all the various animated universes that DC has developed over the years.
Butch Lukic (Tomorrowverse producer) told ScreenRant that they “already were figuring out that we were going to do Crisis before [the Arrowverse] even were filming anything on their Crisis,” which puts the development of Justice League: Crisis On Infinite Earths sometime before 2019. Since Conroy passed away in 2022, it’s very likely that he was able to record some lines beforehand, depending on how far they were into production. At this time, no one at any level of WB has confirmed whether this is true or not, so it has become a waiting game. At one point, Kevin Conroy was rumored to be in the upcoming Batman: Caped Crusader, a new animated show coming from Bruce Timm, JJ Abrams, Ed Brubaker, and Matt Reeves. However, Bruce Timm recently put to bed those rumors, saying that he “did not record a voice for Caped Crusader. We were hoping to have him do a voice for the new show (and he was eager to do it) but sadly he passed away before we could make it happen.” So after Justice League: Crisis On Infinite Earths - Part 3, there will be no more surprise performances.
Kevin Conroy’s passing continues to be a source of grief in the nerd community, but it’s great that almost two years after his death there are still new performances to look forward to. So, understandably, all eyes are on Justice League: Crisis On Infinite Earths - Part 3 in a way that it hadn’t been before. The third part of the massive film series is due out by the end of the year, though no official date has been released yet. While some fans may have a bad taste in their mouths from having to kill Batman in Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, it’s nice to have the hope that there is one more performance waiting in the wings. IGN has explicitly said that he will play the B:TAS version of his Batman, so it’s poetic that his career may end with the character that it began with.