After voicing numerous animated versions of Batman and Bruce Wayne, Kevin Conroy finally got his chance to do it in live-action. While an exciting moment for fans, not everyone loved it.
Conroy appeared as an older and battered Bruce Wayne in the Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover. Due to secrecy, Conroy signed on without seeing the script, and he admits it could have gone better.
Appearing on the Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum podcast, Conroy said, “The fans were not happy about that. They didn’t like seeing that version of Bruce Wayne." That didn't mean he didn't enjoy it, however, adding, "But for me it was fun, it was a lot of fun to sort of stretch my acting chops a little bit. They didn’t tell me anything about the Batman. They just said he was the Batman in the future, an old Bruce Wayne. I said, ‘You mean like in Batman Beyond old Bruce Wayne?’ They said, ‘No, he’s not 80. But he’s older and he’s in bad shape.’ They’re so guarded with their scripts, the studios, they don’t give them out. So they didn’t give me anything. I got the script basically when I was about to get on a plane to fly to Vancouver to do the show, I hadn’t seen anything. I said yes because I was so excited to do something on camera again [after] 25 years.”
Despite the issues, it was still something worth doing. "I was in this suit of armor that was an external spine because his back had been broken by Superman. And I didn’t know that was going to happen. So it was full of surprises. I didn’t know I was going to try and kill Supergirl. He was dark. He was dark. The producer was great, the cast, Ruby Rose, everybody was fantastic, wonderful to work with. But they do like a movie a week. It’s a massive undertaking.”
For long-time fans of Batman: The Animated Series, seeing Conroy in live-action was worth it no matter what version is may have been.
