Over decades, Batman and Joker have continued to shine in all mediums, and to most fans of The Dark Knight, late actor Kevin Conroy remains the definitive voice for Batman and Mark Hamill for Joker. From voicing the characters in the iconic Batman: The Animated Series, none of the other voice artists and actors have been able to replicate the bond between the two characters as well as Conroy and Hamill did.
Apart from the animated series, the Arkham games by Rocksteady also cemented Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill as the definitive Batman and Joker. And when they drop the job for the third entry in the Arkham Saga, there were a lot of challenges that Roger Craig Smith and Troy Baker had to overcome.
Troy Baker and Roger Craig Smith were overwhelmed by the fan response
At a time when superhero games were mostly underwhelming with a few exceptions, Rocksteady’s Arkham Asylum went on to redefine the genre and took the industry by storm with Batman: Arkham City. However, before Rocksteady would release the next installment in line, Batman: Arkham Knight, the Arkham series would witness another installment led by WB Games Montréal.
However, for Batman Arkham: Origins, Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill would not return to voice the characters, and the role of Batman was handed to Roger Craig Smith and Troy Baker went on to voice the Joker. Reflecting on this huge opportunity, the two explained that they were overwhelmed by the support of the community, especially Baker, who was met with great response after performing his monologue at Comic-Con. Baker explained,
“But when you’re face to face with 2000 people that are judging you and to hear that response, it was overwhelming”
However, Baker’s voice wasn’t just exclusive to Joker, as he also voiced Batman in LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes, making him the only artist to voice both iconic characters, a quite remarkable feat.
Why didn’t Kevin Conroy return for Batman: Arkham Origins?
There are a lot of theories speculating the reason behind Kevin Conroy’s exit from Batman: Arkham Origins. But one of the most plausible ones seems to be WB Games Montréal wanting some variation in the voice of a young Batman. Considering the game was set in Bruce Wayne’s early days as the crimefighting vigilante and Conroy was voicing the prime Arkham Batman, this might’ve shifted them to hire Roger Craig Smith to voice the younger Bruce Wayne.
Although Arkham Origins wasn’t as successful as the previous Rocksteady games, it did decent numbers and involved some of the best boss battles in the entire Arkham series. Craig Smith and Baker were also held high for delivering great voice performances as the iconic characters.
Source: PlayStation Access
