Wednesday, July 6, 2016

Kevin Conroy Talks Batman: The Killing Joke

If you are any kind of fan of Batman, then I'm sure you've gotten into an argument over who is the best Batman actor.  If you were one of the ones that grew up watching Batman: The Animated Series or Justice League, then your answer is probably Kevin Conroy.  Conroy has voiced Batman for over 25 years, and when you think of Batman, it's his voice you hear.  The same rings true when talking about the Joker.  When you think about him, the only voice that comes to mind is the one done by Mark Hamill.  Now, early next month, we are going to be privileged to have them both returning to their iconic roles in the upcoming animated feature Batman: The Killing Joke.  This story was one of the most controversial tales ever to come out of DC comics because of it's graphic nature and the story that it told.  Because of these things, the straight-to-Blu-ray movie is getting an R rating.

Conroy recently sat down with Tiffany Smith from DC All Access to talk about the upcoming film, and his return to the role of Batman.

“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 comic book story of The Killing Joke, you know that it's not a very long read.  What they do cover in it, though, is pretty intense.  So how were they able to turn this short storyline into a full-length movie?

“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.”

Batman: The Killing Joke comes out August 2, 2016 on DVD and Blu-ray.


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