I’m a happy camper when I hear either Kevin Conroy or Mark Hamill’s names associated with Batman and the Joker. The two actors have become synonymous to those roles thanks to Bruce Timm’s Batman: The Animated Series and subsequent features in which they appear. Most recently, the duo lent their voices to the sequel to the video game Batman: Arkham Asylum, Arkham City, but Hamill caused a stir when he tweeted something just a few days ago that led us all to believe that was his last time playing the Joker. Hamill has now ammended his statement to add a few exceptions to his new no-Joker rule – more Arkham and the controversial Alan Moore story, The Killing Joke.
Hamill’s original tweet said, “Hello/Goodbye Joker! I’ve enjoyed every minute behind the wheel of the Crown Prince’s crazy car- I’m going to miss him more than I can say!!” The actor later decided to field some fan questions via the social networking site and when one asked what the chances were that Hamill would voice the Joker in a Killing Joke adaptation he answered, “Thats a dream unfilled! Id love to be apart of that project!” Later, when other fans offered their approved of that particular role he tweeted, “I’d come back for THAT! Spread the word! Campaign for #TheKillingJoke!!”
Released in 1988, The Killing Joke quickly gained popularity as well as notoriety with its more violent take on the classic foes, including of course Joker’s horrific attack on former Batgirl, Barbara Gordon. Moore’s story was not originally meant to be canon in the DC Universe but was made so by editorial at the time. Barbara Gordon took on the role of Oracle for the next 20+ years until the recent DC New 52 relaunch which saw her back in the Batgirl costume but with the Killing Joke’s events still in play.
Hamill also clarified later that his Joker retirement comments did not apply to Arkham City. Whether he was just making sure people weren’t assuming he had a bad experience working on the game or if he meant there might be future work for him in the video game franchise it’s not clear. Also of note, he was asked about doing more work on Robot Chicken and said all it would take was a call from actor/creator Seth Green. Seeing as how Green is also on Twitter and Twitter is where magic happens, Green responded by mentioning his show’s recent DC acquisition (of which you can see a sneak peek here) of which Hamill said he was very excited for. Don’t be surprised if you see him there soon, perhaps even as the Clown Prince of Crime again.
What do you make of this news? The Killing Joke has never been adapted, would it make a good animated feature?
(via MTV Geek)
Published: Oct 25, 2011 02:00 pm