Following Kevin Conroy’s tragic passing, Mark Hamill paid tribute to his friend and co-star, who he had worked with for years onBatman: The Animated Series.
Hamill and Conroy had been co-workers for three decades, starting with their work withBatman: The Animated Seriesback in 1992. So it would make sense that they developed a rapport as voice actors, even though they voiced arguably the most iconic rivalry in fiction as Batman and The Joker.
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AfterConroy’s passing had gone public, Hamill paid tribute to his friend and co-star on his personal Twitter page. “Stunned by the loss of this brilliant actor. Words can’t express my admiration and respect for the man. I loved him like a brother. #RIPKevinConroy.” Conroy passed at the age of 66 following a battle with cancer. Fans agree that Conroy’s portrayal of Batman is the most iconic one ever seen, which is why hearing the news of his passing was as tragic as it was, and why many had looked forward to Hamill’s thoughts on the passing of his long-time co-star.
Hamill and Conroy had worked together on many projects pertaining to the characters they played inBatman: The Animated Series. The two had also done their iconic voices for other DC animated projects likeSuperman: The Animated Series,Justice League, andStatic Shock,among others. They also did feature-length films together, likeBatman: Mask of the Phantasm,Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, andBatman: The Killing Joke. They’ve even collaborated on multiple video games together for decades. While fans these days think of their work together ontheArkham Asylumseries, they did their voices forThe Adventures of Batman and Robinin 1994 andBatman: Vengeancein 2001.
While fans love to hear Hamill do his iconic Joker voice because of how well he captured Gotham’s prince of crime, it may not be too crazy to suggest that Hamill won’t be able to do it as well if he doesn’t have Conroy’s Batman to bounce off of like he has in the past. It’s fair to say thatBatman: The Animated Seriesand all the other DC projects they collaborated together on over the years would not have been as good as they were had it not been for the chemistry those two had when they voiced those two characters.
While DC has had other voice actors play the role of Batman and the Joker, nothing will top the duo that was Hamill and Conroy. For that reason, it may be best for them not to bring back Hamill for future projects unless he absolutely wants to. Hamill has said in the past that he only agreesto play the Jokerif Conroy was to play Batman in the same project. Hollywood never leaves good enough alone, but this is one of those rare opportunities where doing so would make sense.
