With the release of the R-rated animated film Batman: The Killing Joke right around the corner, fan anticipation is starting to reach critical mass. Seeing as how Alan Moore and Brian Bolland’s highly acclaimed graphic novel came out way back in 1988, many probably thought it would never see any sort of adaptation, let alone one that would be faithful and break the PG-13 chains.
Thanks to the hallowed team at Warner Bros. Animation, it will become a reality as both Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill reprise their roles of Batman and The Joker, respectively. These fan favorite voice actors have lent their pipes to the aforementioned iconic characters for the better part of a quarter century in projects such as Batman: The Animated Series, various Batman: Arkham video games, and nearly everything in between.
Conroy was quick to point out his seemingly never ending tenure as The Dark Knight, as well as the yin and yang relationship between his character and The Joker, when interviewed by Tiffany Smith of DC All Access:
“Well, I like to think I never left the voice of Batman. I’ve been doing it for 24 years. What’s wonderful about it is getting back in the booth with Mark Hamill because that Batman-Joker relationship, it’s almost like Joker defines Batman and Batman defines Joker. It’s the dark and the light, and sometimes it feels like either of us wouldn’t exist completely without the other, and Mark and I work so well together.”
If you’ve read the graphic novel, then you know it’s not the lengthiest of reads, but Conroy went on to comment about how the animated film expands the role of Batgirl.
“They’ve actually expanded it a bit, they’ve expanded some of the story a bit. There’s much more of Batgirl in this, so that plotline is more developed and the struggle, the internal struggle that Batman has, that Bruce Wayne has in wrestling with the demons in the Joker is much more explored. There are a couple of really wonderful scenes that I have with Mark that I’m really proud of.”
To hear more from Conroy, as well as what his Batman laugh may sound like, which is actually kind of scary when you think about it, check out the video at the top. It’s well worth your time.
Batman: The Killing Joke arrives on Blu-Ray and DVD on August 2.