The late Kevin Conroy is known for his various incarnations of Batman in various mediums. He embodied and became the voice of the character starting from Batman: The Animated Series, and has since gone on to voice him in many Batman-related projects over the years. He transitioned to appearing as Bruce Wayne in the Arrowverse in 2019.
He starred as an aged and damaged Batman in the episode Crisis on Infinite Earths: Part Two alongside Ruby Rose’s Batwoman. Fans were surprised with the dark iteration of the character and were impressed with Conroy’s live-action performance. The actor was supposed to return as the character in the show Gotham Knights but was unable to do so due to his illness.
Kevin Conroy Was Originally Planned to Be a Part of Gotham Knights
Kevin Conroy had an incredible legacy as the voice of Batman through various mediums including games, TV shows, films, etc. Fans have always dreamt about seeing Conroy play the character in live-action and they got their wish fulfilled as he made his live-action debut as the character in the Arrowverse event Crisis on Infinite Earths in 2019.
The actor channeled his natural gravitas and baritone voice with a surprisingly dark portrayal of the character in the episode he appeared in. Thus, it opened up more opportunities for the actor to reprise his role in live-action. The makers of the Gotham Knights show had plans to include the actor as a similarly aged Batman in one of the episodes of the show.
In an interview with Multiverse of Color, the showrunners, Chad Fiveash and James Stoteraux, expressed their love for Conroy’s portrayal of Batman over the years. Stoteraux was particularly disappointed that Conroy couldn’t reprise his role in the show as he was too sick at the time. He said,
“It’s one of those things where they gave us permission, and then unfortunately, who would have played that role – it’s just sort of devastating – was Kevin Conroy. [He] was too sick at that point. He was always my favorite Batman, and we were dealing with an older Batman.”
The show was in production in 2022, the same year Conroy passed away following his battle with intestinal cancer. Fans could have gotten another amazing Batman portrayal but his Arrowverse appearance became his final on-screen role.
Kevin Conroy Was Happy With His Arrowverse Appearance Despite Fan Backlash
Kevin Conroy debuted as Batman in live-action in Arrowverse‘s Crisis on Infinite Earths event. The episode saw Batwoman and Supergirl visiting a futuristic Batman of Earth-99. The Batman they meet is an aged and hardened hero who harbors a lot of darkness and regret. People were shocked by this drastic take on the character unlike his voice roles and were not happy with it.
Conversely, Conroy had a lot of fun playing a different take on the character than he had done before. While he understands the criticisms from fans, this dark take on the character made him display his dramatic acting chops. Conroy told on the Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum podcast,
“The fans were not happy about that. They didn’t like seeing that version of Bruce Wayne. But for me it was fun, it was a lot of fun to sort of stretch my acting chops a little bit.”
The actor gave a very edgy and intense performance in his appearance as the character details all the savagery he went through. Sadly, it would be the first and last time the actor would ever play the character on-screen as he would pass away in 2022. His contribution will never be forgotten and his legacy will always be celebrated across time.
