A Justice League Sequel Is The Last Ride For Kevin Conroy's Batman & Mark Hamill's Joker
In live-action and animation alike, DC fans have seen Batman and his greatest enemy, the Joker, battle with the fate of Gotham City hanging in the balance. While everyone has their favorite actor behind each character when it comes to perfect Batman and Joker actor pairings, one undeniably stands tall among the rest: Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill. Conroy's Dark Knight and Hamill's Clown Prince of Crime have clashed countless times over the years, with their earliest confrontations taking place throughout the widely beloved "Batman: The Animated Series."
Sadly, in 2022, Conroy passed away at age 66 due to intestinal cancer. Thus, it was fair to assume that his DC tenure opposite Hamill had come to an end. However, it has now come to light that the two will appear in one last animated DC production together, as Conroy recorded his lines before his death. It was previously revealed that Conroy will voice Batman in the film "Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part 3," and according to IGN's sources, Hamill will feature alongside him as the Joker.
With the release of "Justice League: Crisis on Infinity Earths – Part 3," fans will see the final pairing of Conroy and Hamill. Unfortunately, the "Star Wars" actor has also cast doubt on his future voicing the Joker for a heartbreaking reason.
Hamill has indicated that he has no plans to voice Joker again without Conroy
To say that Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill were a perfect voice-acting match as Batman and the Joker would be a tremendous understatement. From "Batman: The Animated Series" to the "Batman: Arkham" video game saga, the two brought the legendary DC rivals to life like no other duo ever has in any medium. Not to mention, the two grew incredibly close behind the scenes, hence why they continued to work together for decades. With that in mind, it's no surprise that Hamill seems to have retired his rendition of Joker following Conroy's death.
"They would call and say, 'They want you to do the Joker,' and my only question was, 'Is Kevin Batman?' If they said yes, I would say, 'I'm in.' We were like partners. We were like Laurel and Hardy. Without Kevin there, there doesn't seem to be a Batman for me," Hamill said during an interview with Empire Magazine (via ComicBookMovie.com). As reported by GamesRadar, he later doubled down on this idea of ending his Joker run, citing a famous Joker quote at Fan EXPO San Francisco in 2023: "Without Batman, crime has no punchline."
Conroy and Hamill's last ride as Batman and the Joker, "Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part 3," currently lacks a release date.