Longtime Batman voice actor Kevin Conroy recently confirmed that there is no new 2013’s Batman: Arkham Origins. There, Bruce Wayne and his brooding alter-ego were instead played by Sonic The Hedgehog VA Rodger Craig Smith.
Hearing Kevin Conroy as the Dark Knight once again was one of the many talking points of 2009’s Batman: Arkham Asylum, which managed to overcome the previously lackluster reputation of Batman video games and put developer Rocksteady on the map thanks to its solid gameplay and haunting atmosphere. 2010’s Batman: Arkham City and 2015’s Batman: Arkham Knight would build upon the groundwork of Asylum by placing the Dark Knight in an open-world version of Gotham City and introducing new versions of several of Batman’s iconic rogues’ gallery, earning even more critical acclaim from gaming and comic book fans in the process. However, the explosive conclusion to Arkham Knight seemed to indicate that Rocksteady was finished with its take on Batman, and the Dark Knight himself has just confirmed that this isn’t going to change anytime soon.
Kevin Conroy recently sat down for an interview with YouTube channel The Movie Dweeb (via CBR), and the subject of another Batman: Arkham sequel eventually came up. Conroy answered that while he wishes there would be another Arkham game, there are currently no plans by Rocksteady or any other developer to make one. He reasons that money is a factor in this decision, pointing out that Batman: Arkham Knight took over two years of development and cost a “fortune." On the other hand, Conroy believes that another Arkham game would be a huge financial success and notes that he gets asked about it by fans “all the time.”
Rocksteady will still return to the world of DC Comics in Gotham Knights, which shifts the spotlight over to Batman’s old sidekicks after the Dark Knight himself is apparently killed in an explosion - a setup that is noticeably similar to the ending of Batman: Arkham Knight.
As for Batman himself, it seems there are currently no plans for Kevin Conroy to reprise his iconic role as the Caped Crusader in a brand-new Batman: Arkham game, much to the disappointment of the series’ many fans. Kevin Conroy still hopes that Rocksteady will return to the Arkham series one day, but for now players will likely have to settle for defending the streets of Gotham as Nightwing, Batgirl, Red Hood, and Robin when Gotham Knights launches in October.
Source: The Movie Dweeb/YouTube (via CBR)
