For most people, Kevin Conroy will always be the best Batman. The veteran actor has voiced Batman/Bruce Wayne since Batman: The Animated Series in the early ’90s, and continued playing him through multiple animated movies, TV shows, and the Batman Arkham games by Rocksteady. Conroy is beloved in the role, but has never actually played the character in live-action. That will change later this year, as the CW has announced that Conroy will play an older Bruce Wayne in its Crisis on Infinite Earths TV event.
The network made the announcement during a panel at the Television Critic Association’s summer event over the weekend. Kevin Conroy will be appearing sometime during the big Crisis on Infinite Earths event as “Bruce Wayne from the future” apparently.
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The idea of an elderly future Bruce Wayne who has retired from being Batman was the central plot in the Batman: The Animated Series spin-off show Batman Beyond, in which Conroy played Bruce Wayne. It’s Batman Beyond’s 20th anniversary this year, and it’s getting a Blu-Ray collection in October just prior to the CW’s event, so it’s possible this casting is a direct reference to that show.
Crisis on Infinite Earths is the big TV crossover event between all the CW’s DC Comics superhero shows, including Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl and the new Batwoman. The event will begin in December, and is an adaptation of the famous comics event from 1986. Kevin Conroy’s casting isn’t the only big announcement for the event, either. Brandon Routh, who currently stars in Legends of Tomorrow (which is also part of the event), will be reprising his most famous role as Superman for the crossover. Burt Ward, who played Robin in the ’60s Batman TV show alongside Adam West, will also make an appearance. We wouldn’t be surprised if Mark Hamill, the famous voice of the Joker, is the next cast member to be announced, especially as he’s already appeared in the Arrowverse as The Trickster.
