The voice was perfect, as was every facet of the show. The writing, the animation, and the stories of Batman: The Animated Series were and still are the standard for The Dark Knight. But that voice just made it; Kevin Conroy was Batman to an entire generation. His grim monotone is the one we still hear in our heads as we read freshly printed comics to this day.

Conroy sadly passed away after a battle with cancer on November 11. Everyone has their favorite Batman, whether it is Keaton, Bale, or Affleck and now Robert Pattinson. But Conroy owned the character, having played him not just in Batman: The Animated Series but in countless animated features, video games, and more over the last thirty years. Kevin Conroy is synonymous with Batman. But that’s not all he was. Conroy attended the prestigious Juilliard School, where he trained for his long career as an actor in theatre, film, and television. He was planning on portraying Batman again in the near future. Where will those projects go now in the wake of Conroy’s death? Where will the animated form of the character go?

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Kevin Conroy’s Upcoming Batman Projects

     Warner Bros. Television Distribution

Upcoming projects are essentially a Gotham City devolved into pure madness without this Dark Knight. Conroy was set to portray Batman once again in an audio drama that would continue Batman: The Animated Series.

The script by longtime Batman scribe Alan Burnett would bring back the original remaining voice actors of The Animated Series. This could have included Conroy himself as Bruce Wayne/Batman, Mark Hamill as the Joker, Loren Lester as Dick Grayson/Robin, Richard Moll as Two-Face, and many more of the rogues’ gallery.

Though it was mostly through speculation and a singular IMDB reference, Conroy was supposedly connected to the new upcoming animated series from J.J. Abrams, Bruce Timm, and Matt Reeves titled Batman: The Caped Crusader. These projects, and others that would have benefited from this long-tenured Batman, are now in question.

Conroy’s Career as The Dark Knight

     Warner Bros. 

We know definitively the audio series will be affected by Conroy’s passing. Will other in the works project still happen? There’s now a gaping hole in the Batman universe, as Conroy didn’t stop with just Batman: The Animated Series.

Though the series effectively ended with its reincarnation, The New Batman Adventures, it kind of continued with the excellent Batman Beyond. Conroy continued lending his legendary voice to numerous animated features over the years. This included standouts such as Superman/Batman: Public Enemies, Superman/Batman: Apocalypse, and Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox. He also portrayed Batman in the animated series Justice League. In 2009, Conroy made the trademark grappling gun leap from animated features to XBOX and PlayStation with Batman: Arkham Asylum and twice more with Arkham City and Arkham Knight.

Put succinctly, Conroy has been the most consistent Batman for three decades. Sure, other voice actors have taken on the character, many of them nailing it in their own right. Jason O’Mara’s gravely toned Batman is the highlight of the DC Animated Movie Universe. Peter Weller’s grizzled, cynical and dark take in The Dark Knight Returns animated feature captures the Frank Miller source material in earnest. These were essentially phase series and one-offs, respectively. While talented voice actors will continue to portray Batman, the animated character won’t be the same without Kevin Conroy’s massive shadow looming over.

Where Will Animated Batman Go Now?

Conroy was always there, ready to don the figurative Batsuit for the next go-round. Without his ubiquitous presence, what is the future of the character of Batman outside of the live-action arena? Who will be that go-to new Batman, if anyone? We hate to come off so cynical, but no one. Conroy was literally a once-in-a-generation talent and voice. This isn’t to write off any new voice actors out of hand, but as Batman just can’t be definitively taken down in the comics, Conroy cannot be replaced.

Frequent co-star Mark Hamill put it very well in a 2019 interview with Rotten Tomatoes:

Hamill’s Joker is brilliant on its own. But like the Joker needs Batman in their twisted relationship, Hamill’s Joker won’t feel the same without Conroy’s Batman delivering a right cross via sound effect.

“When they offer me roles now, I say, ‘Is Kevin doing it?’…I don’t even have to read the script, if Kevin’s doing it I’ll do it.”

Batman will always live on. We will always be saturated with Batman content. It’s a highly valued character and property, so most of what we get is, at the very least, representative. With Batman, many voice actors have come and gone. They put on the suit for a stint and then retired it when they hung up the headphones and turned off their mic. Kevin Conroy will always be Batman.