Recently, Batman voice actor Kevin Conroy passed away after a fight with cancer. To a generation and across multiple projects of both the animated and live-action variety, he was Bruce Wayne and the Caped Crusader. Some have gone so far as to say the character’s voice is now gone, but, as a valuable IP, the superhero will never be retired and, so, someone may take over the part.
Who exactly will at this time is an open question. While other actors have played the role in animated productions, Conroy was the best-known and most prolific. Apart from his efforts, Warner Bros. Discovery has let multiple actors give Wayne life in their D.C. Universe Animated original movies since 2007. Some of these have been in their own connected sub-universes while others have been standalone. In the future, things may change in order to better connect with coming projects in TV, live-action, and gaming, too.
Director James Gunn and producer Peter Safran were picked by Warner Bros. Discovery head David Zaslav as the new co-chairs of DC Studios. Shortly thereafter, the man who broke Batgirl put out a statement saying the pair were uniquely qualified to craft a long-term strategy across film, television, and animation and would “take this iconic franchise to the next level of creative storytelling.” He has also added there will not be multiple Batmen running around. A recent report from Eurogamer suggests future projects will be part of the larger world overseen by Gunn and Safran, which ultimately aims to make money from the masses.
What does this mean for Conroy’s legacy? Essentially, maybe not now, but possibly later, just one performer will be picked for the character over the course of at least a decade. They will consistently appear in a number of ventures, and, if not available, it is likely a sound-alike will be hired so as to maintain consistency. Nothing is certain (after all, Warner Bros. could always get another corporate owner with yet another vision for their assets), but this looks like the most likely outcome given all that’s happening, at least for now.
Even if so, fans will always have years of recordings of the late master and memories to look back on. Through them all, the late and great Conroy gave light to 9/11 first responders, made friends with people from galaxies far, far away and let fans from marginalized communities know they were not alone. Indeed, he even wrote a comic about his experiences as a gay man as well.
