Although Mark Hamill will arguably always be best known for playing Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars franchise, in the realm of voice acting, there’s no question that his biggest role has been The Joker, Batman’s arch-nemesis. Hamill first voiced the Clown Prince of Crime in Batman: The Animated Series, taking over the role from Tim Curry before the show premiered, and the last three decades have seen him playing the cackling villain across all sorts of TV shows, movies and video games. Unfortunately, it looks like Hamill’s time as The Joker has come to an end, with the actor explaining the heartbreaking, but understandable reason why he probably won’t return to the role.
Last November, Kevin Conroy, who voiced Batman opposite Mark Hamill’s Joker in Batman: The Animated Series and various other projects, passed away at the age of 66. Hamill was among the celebrities who paid tribute to Conroy, and while speaking with Empire Magazine (via ScreenRant), the Star Wars actor shared that the main reason he kept returning to play Joker was if Conroy was involved in the project. With Conroy no longer around, Hamill’s heart isn’t in the role anymore. In his words:
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.
Considering the bond Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill shared for almost three decades, I don’t blame the latter for not being interested in playing The Joker anymore now that the former is gone. Conroy’s Batman and Hamill’s Joker went together like peanut butter and jelly, so fans should consider themselves fortunate they got so many pairings with these two across multiple continuities. Sure, it would be nice to hear Hamill continue voicing Joker, but it wouldn’t be the same without hearing Conroy’s Batman with him.
Mark Hamill has said it was a “gift” to be cast as The Joker after playing Luke Skywalker since he’d been looking for a role that was the “polar opposite” of the Jedi “in every way,” and he’s also “forever grateful” for how his Joker outings have allowed him to frighten children. Still, Hamill is indeed retiring from the role, then his last Joker appearances will include Batman: The Killing Joke, Justice League Action, an episode of Scooby-Doo and Guess Who? and the video game MultiVersus, all of which Kevin Conroy lent his voice to as well. We’ll hear Conroy voice Batman one last time in the upcoming video game Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League.
Should you wish to revisit Mark Hamill’s Joker and/or Kevin Conroy’s Batman, most of their film and TV appearances in the DC Comics space can be streamed with an HBO Max subscription. Hamill will next be seen starring with Bert Kresicher in the 2023 movie release The Machine, and he also has a role in the upcoming Netflix miniseries The Fall of the House of Usher.
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