Here’s a thought experiment for you: What does Batman sound like in your head? Depending on how old you are, there’s a really good chance that you’re hearing the voice of Kevin Conroy, who’s distinctive growl is forever fixed in the minds of fans of Batman: The Animated Series.
Thus far, Conroy has only ever voiced the Caped Crusader, not played him on camera. But that’s about to change, according to The A.V. Club.
You see, The CW is adapting DC’s seminal Crisis on Infinite Earths story later this year — it’ll be a grand event that stretches across episodes of Supergirl, Batwoman, and The Flash in 2019 and across Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow early in 2020. Crisis deals with a cataclysm that effects millions of realities, including one where an older Bruce Wayne — Conroy is in his ’60s — is still around. Per CW representatives speaking at the 2019 TCA summer press tour, that’s how Conroy’s Batman will finally show up in the flesh.
And why wouldn’t an older and presumably wiser Batman be a great help in the fight, even if he doesn’t suit up? Also, who doesn’t want to see him utter “I am vengeance. I am the night. I am Batman!” in real life, probably as he slowly stands up? Bonus if he gets to say it with Kate Kane/Batwoman (Ruby Rose), so that she can borrow or adapt it for her own series when she needs it. It has to be deployed sparingly, of course, but we trust this Batman icon to take care of the line.
Here’s the other question: which Batman, specifically, is Conroy playing? Brandon Routh and Tyler Hoechlin are also showing up in the five-episode Crisis adaptation, but they’ve each only played one version of Superman. Conroy is different. Will we be seeing the muscled, traumatized Batman of the Batman: Arkham games? Or the classic incarnation from Batman: The Animated Series? How about the Bruce of Batman Beyond, which seems like the best fit given Conroy’s age? Maybe he’ll simultaneously be all and none of these Batmen, the last resort of our heroes to defeat the Anti-Monitor, who’s trying to destroy the multiverse once and for all.
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Of course, there’s one more question: How much do you think The CW would be willing to pay to get Mark Hamill to play the Joker alongside Conroy? As with Conroy, Hamill’s voice work as the Joker in Batman: The Animated Series has become iconic, but he’s never played the character in a live-action format. Getting Conroy is already a huge coup for Bat-fans. Conroy and Hamill together might actually blow the internet up.
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