After almost 30 years of voicing the character in various media, Kevin Conroy finally got to play Batman in live-action in last winter’s “Crisis on Infinite Earths.” His appearance was one of the most-anticipated elements of the mega-crossover miniseries. So, it came as a shock when Conroy’s Bruce Wayne, who turned up in the event’s second episode, was revealed to be an evil version of the hero from an alternate universe.
After waiting so long to see Conroy portray Bruce in person, many felt it was a waste to not have him play the true Dark Knight. While speaking to his former Justice League animated series co-star Michael Rosenbaum on his Inside of You podcast, the voice acting legend addressed the fan backlash, though remarked that he really enjoyed the challenge.
“The fans were not happy about that. They didn’t like seeing that version of Bruce Wayne,” Conroy said. “But for me it was fun, it was a lot of fun to sort of stretch my acting chops a little bit.”
Interestingly, Conroy went on to reveal that he had no idea this twist would happen when he signed up for the gig, with producers hooking him in with the promise of playing a Batman Beyond-like Bruce.
“They didn’t tell me anything about the Batman. They just said he was the Batman in the future, an old Bruce Wayne,” Conroy continued. “I said, ‘You mean like in Batman Beyond old Bruce Wayne?’ They said, ‘No, he’s not 80. But he’s older and he’s in bad shape.'”
Conroy explained that he only received the episode’s script just before he got on the plane to Vancouver to shoot it, as the producers were so “guarded” about details leaking out. And it seems he only found out on the day that he had to wear a “suit of armor” that was key to his character’s backstory.
“I was in this suit of armor that was an external spine because his back had been broken by Superman. And I didn’t know that was going to happen,” Conroy said with a laugh. “So it was full of surprises. I didn’t know I was going to try and kill Supergirl. He was dark. He was dark.”
When asked if he would be up for playing Batman in live-action again, Conroy said that he “would love to,” as well as praising the “Crisis on Infinite Earths” cast and crew. So, it seems he’d definitely be interested in returning to the Arrowverse. Maybe next time he could actually turn up as a more heroic Batman, though.
