DC Comics’ Traci Thirteen has a drama series in development at The CW along with her father Dr. Terrance Thirteen. The series, titled Project 13, is set to be executive produced by Elizabeth Banks.
The top image is of Infectious Lass, Anthro, Captain Fear (Fero), Dr Thirteen, Traci Thirteen, I…Vampire, Haunted Tank, Genius Jones, Count Julius from a 2007 backup feature in Tales of the Unexpected by Brian Azzarello and illustrated by Cliff Chiang that was collected in its own trade. It was one of my favorites back in the day. This new project is not based on that story exactly but does sound pretty cool.
Variety had the exclusive on this developing project writing:
Titled “Project 13,” the one-hour drama would center on Traci, a twenty-something forensic scientist and believer in the paranormal who discovers her own hidden extra-sensory abilities when she joins her estranged, skeptic father to investigate mysterious cases of the paranormal and unexplained phenomena.
They add that Daegan Fryklind, writer and producer of Syfy’s Bitten, will be writing and producing Project 13 with Max Handelman and Brownstone Productions and Banks.
Traci Thirteen (or Traci 13 or Girl 13) first appeared in 2003 and is one of DC Comics’ magic characters. Her mother, Meihui Lan, died because of magic and her father, a parapsychologist, doesn’t like Traci to use her powers as a result. Things have changed a bit as continuity shifted at the publisher but Traci has spent time training with Ralph and Sue Dibney, fought alongside Superboy and the Teen Titans, and DC Rebirth presented the character as a lesbian in a relationship with Natasha Irons (niece of Steel). Whether or not the creators stick with that version is up in the air. Fingers crossed.
One New York City hotel is offering a special experience for serious Stranger Things fans. But you’ll have to bring your own chocolate pudding.
The Gregory Hotel has a cool offer starting Friday October 27, which just happens to be the day Stranger Things Season 2 starts streaming on Netflix, called the “Ex-stream-ly Cozy Package.”* Here’s what it includes:
Booking rates starting at $249/night
Streaming service via in-room Google Chromecast to binge-watch the Season 2 premiere of The Stranger Things on Netflix
Curated Stranger Things snacks and beverages, including canned House Wine and Heathy Skoop’s Sleep Protein to help you sleep away the post-show scaries
Eleven’s Eggos to munch on mid-premiere
Stranger Things lite-up wall tapestry depicting Will’s message from the Upside Down along with fleece blanket and pillowcase
Stranger Things “Friends don’t lie” mug to take home
They say you can “Upgrade your Netflix-and-chill or celebrate Halloween in style with this spooky offering,” but it will be running through August 30, 2018 if you can’t make it this weekend. Here’s hoping there’s nothing under the bed or inside the walls…
Marvel’s Runaways will debut on Hulu Tuesday, November 21st and the latest trailer looks like it captures the comic book characters perfectly.
Every teenager thinks their parents are evil. What if you found out they actually were? Marvel’s Runaways is the story of six diverse teenagers who can barely stand each other but who must unite against a common foe – their parents.
The series stars Rhenzy Feliz, Lyrica Okano, Virginia Gardner, Ariela Barer, Gregg Sulkin, Allegra Acosta, Annie Wersching, Ryan Sands, Angel Parker, Ever Carradine, James Marsters, Kevin Weisman, Brigid Brannah, James Yaegashi, Brittany Ishibashi, Kip Pardue, and Julian McMahon.
Marvel’s Runaways is executive produced by series showrunners/writers Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage (The O.C. and Gossip Girl) along with Marvel’s Head of Television, Jeph Loeb (Marvel’s Jessica Jones, Marvel’s The Defenders) and Jim Chory (Marvel’s The Defenders, Marvel’s Jessica Jones) Fake Empire’s Lis Rowinski will produce as well. Marvel’s Runaways is a co-production with ABC Signature Studios.
The casting seems pretty great but I find Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s Spike (James Marsters) and Alias’ Marshall (Kevin Weisman, who was also on Buffy) being evil parents in this one especially wonderful. Of course it’s the appearance of Old Lace in this trailer that gets the gold star.
The first three episodes of this new 10-episode series will debut on November 21st. Are you looking forward to it?
Many DC Comics fans have been eagerly anticipating the arrival of the Legion of Super-Heroes since their classic ring was teased on The Flash. Now Brainiac 5 has been cast for The CW’s Supergirl.
The ring was teased first in a quick series of images as Barry Allen traveled to Earth 2 (those images included a great nod to the 90s Flash series starring John Wesley Shipp, among other things). The ring later showed up on Supergirl as an actual object in Superman’s Fortress of Solitude. While the network has already announced casting of Bollywood star Amy Jackson as Legion member Saturn Girl, we now know Brainiac 5, aka Querl Dox, will also be making his debut this season.
TV Line reports Jesse Rath has been cast in the role. Fandom may already be familiar with him thanks to his roles on Syfy’s Being Human and Defiance. Here’s what they had to say about his arrival on Supergirl:
Half computer, half organic life and boasting a 12-level intellect, Brainiac 5 is a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes who travels to National City from the 31st Century to help Supergirl and the DEO battle Reign, the villain that L-Corp CEO Samantha Arias (played by Odette Annable) is on track to becoming.
Brainiac 5 had a relationship with Supergirl in the comics so it stands to reason the two could be headed toward romantic entanglement on the show. And since Mon-El also had connections to the Legion in the comics, bet on him returning just as Kara is falling for Querl. Rath is set to debut in Episode 10, “Legion of Super-Heroes.”
No spoilers but if you’ve seen Marvel’s Thor: Ragnarok you can probably guess why I said that.
Peter Jackson’s epics are phenomenal pieces of cinema and have been a significant part of my life. While I wasn’t actually rooting for LotR to be remade, as a fan I knew with an intellectual property like that, it was only a matter of time. The Fellowship of the Ring was released in 2001 which seems like eons ago now.
Sure enough, late last week Variety exclusively reported that Warner Bros. Television and Amazon Studios were working with the estate of J.R.R. Tolkien to develop a TV show based on his LotR novels. They stress that it is still very early in negotiations (and Deadline added a humongous price tag for the rights alone). They also remind us of a previous law suit between WB and the estate:
The fact that a “Lord of the Rings” series is being shopped by Warner Bros. marks a thaw in the relationship between the studio and the Tolkien estate, which in July settled a massive lawsuit that had dragged on since 2012. The dispute, with Tolkien’s heirs and publisher HarperCollins on one side and Warner Bros. — which produced director Peter Jackon’s live-action feature film adaptations of “The Lord of the Rings” and its prequel, “The Hobbit” — on the other, stemmed from the use characters from the movies in online slot machines and other games.
As Variety mentioned, there’s still a ways to go before this project sees the light of day (if it ever does) but while some fans don’t want it to happen at all, the news got me thinking about the potential it could provide.
People of color certainly worked on LotR, a huge number of New Zealand’s Māori participated in production, but none had lead roles. And that’s not to downplay the role of actors like Sala Baker, who played Sauron, but visibility is important and the entire main cast was as white as they come. And they were fantastic! But perhaps next time around we can try something different?
Tolkien wrote the books in the 1930s and 40s, and many have written about Tolkien and race. But while some may prefer to keep things “the way they were,” I say it’s 2017, let’s do better. I hope the estate agrees.
The conversation about representation in media, both in front of and behind the scenes, is thankfully being taken more seriously these days (partly due to $$$). But it’s long overdue. Any LotR project that doesn’t include people of color in vital roles on camera and behind isn’t for me.
[UPDATE 11/13/2017] The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed Amazon Studios is moving ahead with a huge addition – the series will explore the time before The Fellowshiip of the Ring. THR reports:
The retail giant and streaming outlet announced Monday that it has acquired global television rights to the Lord of the Rings franchise, based on the best-selling novels by J.R.R. Tolkien. Amazon has handed out a multiple-season commitment. The Amazon LOTR series will be produced in-house at Amazon Studios alongside the Tolkien Estate and Trust, publisher HarperCollins and Warner Bros. Entertainment’s New Line Cinema. Amazon’s LOTR series will be set in Middle Earth and explore new storylines preceding Tolkien’s The Fellowship of the Ring.
“We are delighted that Amazon, with its longstanding commitment to literature, is the home of the first-ever multi-season television series for The Lord of the Rings,” Matt Galsor, a representative for the Tolkien Estate and Trust and HarperCollins said in their statement. “Sharon and the team at Amazon Studios have exceptional ideas to bring to the screen previously unexplored stories based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s original writings.”
This news certainly puts a new angle on the trepidation some fans had at the work being adapted again. What do you think?
In July we found out Jodie Whittaker would be stepping into the shoes of the Doctor. Today we’ve got our first look at her costume for BBC’s Doctor Who.
Though the BBC previously released a teaser video featuring Whittaker, the outfit she was wearing was not her actual costume for her upcoming run as the 13th Doctor. This morning the BBC and BBC America Twitter accounts revealed this new photo with a simple caption: “New series. New Doctor. New look!”
I think it’ll be a contentious one because it really is a “look.” But on first glance I liked it. If you’d like an amusing look at the new Doctor trying to choose a new costume, make sure to watch Leigh Lahav’s animated short.
Whittaker has been very enthusiastic about the role so far, even getting to see fans cosplay her for the first time (in the teaser clothes). There’s already fan art online of this official get up, how long until the cosplay shots start rolling out?
The BBC has given us a clip from “Twice Upon a Time,” this year’s Doctor Who Christmas special starring Peter Capaldi and David Bradley as the Doctor.
Pearl Mackie will also return as Bill Potts and Mark Gatiss picks up another Doctor Who role as the Captain. I was pretty meh on last year’s special, here’s hoping this one is a bit more fun. Rachel Talalay directed and exiting showrunner Steven Moffat wrote the script. Will you be watching on Christmas Day? We should be getting that Jodie Whittaker regeneration into the 13th Doctor…I wonder if the first will be around to see it?
BBC America posted a lovely yule log for us to enjoy this weekend and threw in a few Doctor Who Christmas special clips to boot. Considering the episode will come and go while I’m out and about, let us use this spot as our open thread as well. That means spoilers for the big regeneration and all the rest of it will be in the comments. Proceed at your own risk!
I’ve contributed to way too many roasts during my tenure at io9/Gizmodo, but I’ve never had to lead one. I knew I couldn’t keep our io9 family together forever but that doesn’t make it hurt any less.
[Note: Roasting ex-employees has been a long GMG tradition. Today I’m hosting the one for io9’s recently exited Beth Elderkin on my personal blog–which I haven’t published on since 2018.]
Where do I even start? How about the very beginning (a very good place to start, I once heard)? Most people don’t know this but when Beth was transitioning to full-time at io9, I was directed to her tweet informing folks the site was looking for a new weekend writer. I was sort of doing my own thing at the time but was looking for a small gig that would bring in some steady bucks. I’d already known Rob Bricken for years at that point and he had tried bringing me into the fold several times but it never worked out for one reason or another. It didn’t then either but he put me in touch with Beth to at least chat out what the job entailed (no two media companies are the same because why would there be any standards ha ha ha—unionize, folks!). The next time we really spoke was when I started getting added to io9 email chains before I officially boarded as Managing Editor. You see, this was right as the team was planning io9’s tenth-anniversary celebration and I could tell right away that Beth loved to organize. I came to learn that when Beth was on a project she always made sure everyone had what they needed to succeed but…oh my GOD the spreadsheets. “Beth has shared with you,” Beth has added you to,” “Beth has shared,” “Beth has shared,” “Beth has shared…”.
Truth be told, Beth and I got off to a bit of a rocky start. I’m not sure if she feels the same way—we’ve never spoken about my early days at io9—but for someone blogging for a living, sometimes it was like pulling teeth getting her to actually blog. I would get unexpectedly challenged when assigning her some random thing because she didn’t watch the show or didn’t see the angle or just thought it was bad. I’d be silently pulling my hair out because it had been an hour since we last posted and “OH MY GOD we just need to get something on the page.” After some time I realized, it wasn’t that Beth didn’t want to blog, it’s that she wanted to blog about teen zombie musicals. Or White House Christmas decoration horror. Or some really, really bad looking movie. Beth just wanted to have fun (how dare she) and, as with all the staff, I slowly came to learn more about who she was and understand her likes, dislikes, and quirks.
For instance, Beth likes to talk. Ok, that’s not a quirk, but when you’re in an office with headphones on, head down, editing, and someone starts speaking to you when Slack is right there, you start to wonder. Speaking of Slack, Beth also had a habit of telling people I “let” her get away with a certain headline or blog. The truth is, I had almost always already made my decision to let her blog the thing she was clearly enthusiastic about (which of course, always, always made for a better end result) but let her continue typing while I took care of some other task. Then I could turn back to the chat, pretend she sold me (by that time I knew her very well and her instincts were almost never wrong), and get her on putting all those words where they should be.
I know, I know this is supposed to be a roast. That’s the best I could do. Truly, it’s hard to roast Beth because she’s one of those “really nice people” you sometimes hear about. I’m already worried I hurt her feelings! She’s an incredibly hard worker who took her time at io9 and really made it count, both in her role as a writer and the editor of io9’s video presence. Along with a great team at her side, she made some truly cool videos for us; from weekly Game of Thrones and Westworld coverage to original deep dives and blessed shipping conversations, Beth always pulled out something amazing from her sleeves.
On the writing side of things, she could surely turn a phrase and she’s the queen of “Wild thing happened, in this essay I will…” Plus, I could always count on her to blog about stuff no one else wanted—like Riverdaleor Motherland: Fort Salem (she freaking loves witches). She was also an absolute standout with her gaming coverage for us (Considering how much RPGs and tabletop gaming were a part of Beth’s presence here on io9, it’s very odd I never played a game with her. Let’s schedule a date!) Remember that time she got Andrzej Sapkowski to say some truly wild shit about Netflix’s adaptation of The Witcher? Or that time I told her to absolutely, positively not ask about the bathtub at SDCC and she did anyway? Beth could hit the obvious stuff, sure, but it was really some of her more outside-the-box pitches that I loved. Like when she dug into the secret lost ending of Quantum Leap. And while the headline and top photo on this post is probably obvious enough, her love for Legends of Tomorrow knows no bounds.
It must also be said: she can serve looks like nobody’s business.
Besides all the laughs and puns she gave us over the years, she also tackled some really heavy topics with grace and respect. All of us at this company have been struggling for a while with how to work within some incredibly limiting boundaries that have only gotten more limiting as time went on. Even with those hurdles, Beth managed to do some incredible work on something I’ve wanted for io9 since I started here: investigative reporting. It’s not easy, it’s not quick, and it’s almost never appreciated as much as it should be, but it’s important and Beth believed in it. She knocked it out of the park not once but twice. I’m forever grateful.
I could go on and on about the outstanding work Beth did here but well, we’ve gotten to the point where there are tears clouding my vision again so I’ll end here and let others take it away. The classic Gizmodo sendoff is “Bye, bitch” but that feels very wrong for Beth. So for now I’ll just say, “See you later, pal.”
Germain Lussier, film reporter, io9
Beth, I’m very sad to see you go for all the reasons one would expect. You’re smart, talented, great to work with, always full of ideas. Just an excellent friend and colleague. But really, I’m most sad because you know Dune inside and out and now I’m probably going to have to cover Dune and I have no idea what the hell is going on with Dune. What’s a dune? There are worms? Is spice actually tasty? Is Zendaya Meechee? I’m so lost and was really looking forward to your coverage. Just as I’m looking forward to seeing you thrive in the future with your beautiful family and exciting new job. Best of luck.
Charles Pulliam-Moore, staff writer, io9
I hate to say it; I hope I don’t sound ridiculous. I don’t know who this woman is. I mean, she could be walking down the street, and I wouldn’t…well, I wouldn’t know a thing. Sorry to this woman.
Cheryl Eddy, News Editor, io9
I’m certain that others will mention Beth’s investigative journalism skills, her fondness for fairy tales (Josie and the Pussycats totally counts), her enviably poised on-camera presence, the fact that she physically cannot watch gory horror movies (but still digs the horror genre!), and her curiously enduring obsession with Beebo. So I’ll add to that “slays at karaoke” with a warning never to challenge her in some kind of sing-off, because you will lose.
James Whitbrook, news editor, io9
It’s hard to think of one memory that defines working with Beth, things that could, for any lesser acoylte of Beebo, could be all manners of frustration. Her desire to doggedly chase the weirdest stories to a fault, knowing with all good sense they’d turn out great. Her love of roping as many—as many—of us into group projects as she could think of, because she was always the biggest ideas person around. Her love of opening every Chilling Age of Sabrina blog headline she wrote with “Hail Satan!”, no matter how many times she’d done that before it. Her ability to, in spite of many reminders, to just jump into io9’s slack without reading a word of what came before her, keeping us all on our toes as she caught up on everything she missed. Hell, having to cover the last season of Game of Thrones? I wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemy and yet Beth corralled us into discussion posts, video ideas (remember when we had a video team?), theory breakdowns when we still thought literally anything about that season would matter. She made the best of whatever Benioff and Weiss could throw at a person, and that alone is an honorable merit.
Maybe that’s what I’ll remember about working with Beth most—her ability to be in her element no matter the shitstorm around her, whether it was the silly blogs or the big blogs. The one week I have been in an office with literally any of the people I work with at io9 was the week her Vic Mignona investigation ran on the site back in 2019. I was sitting next to her, pretending I knew how to work in an office environment when it published—and I remember her anxiety over whether she’d got the right angles, whether all the i’s and t’s were dotted and crossed, whether or not his fanbase would target her. But I also remember her excitement, her pride, even as she tried to play it cool as I congratulated her on it finally getting on the site. In her element, at the heart of a shitstorm. Beebo couldn’t ask for a better servant, praise be to his name.
Autumn Kelly, social editor, io9/Gizmodo/Earther
Beth, you’re truly too delightful of a human being to roast. I could say lots of good things about you, like how thoughtful of a person you are, how I’ve learned so much working with you, and how you always put good one-liners for social in your blogs… except since this is supposed to be a roast, you have left me no choice but to leave you with a GIF.
Being the Weekend Editor is a lonely job. You have to keep the site running, every weekend, virtually by yourself. It’s a lot of responsibility. One side effect of this job is that, when you do see the weekday crew log on, it normally means something has gone wrong. As such, Beth, who trained me in the job, teaching me a bunch of best practices that I’m sure I forgot, was as much a colleague as she was person I only saw when I did something wrong.
I remember one time… Uh. Hm. I don’t actually have any good stories for this. Truth be told, I’m not really the roasting type. Beth was a gracious teacher and a kind presence. As someone who left G/O Media due to burnout and the creeping realization that there was absolutely no viable future for me there, I’m deeply sympathetic to and supportive of Beth’s departure and the most I can do is accuse her of being a copycat for going into the video game industry. I wish her all the best.
I mean. Uh. Fuck you, Beth. Eat shit. Or something.
Therese McPhereson, Creative video producer & animator
Beth!
I want to roast her but it might end up sounding more like a toast. Let me try anyway.
Basically, the worst thing about her is her absolutely perfect voice-over game. She was practically born to read from a teleprompter and it annoys me how perfectly she makes witty comments with strong eye contact directly into camera B.
She is the best host a video producer could ask for and I hate it.
Thank you for years of ruining videos by wearing nice jackets and matching your hair to io9 branding. If it weren’t for Beth and her hard work I could have gone home early, but no—instead she works on a perfect schedule and we all get out on time. So that we can stay after hours for board games… nerds. Io9 isn’t going to miss Beth at all. Neither will the video team. Nope. Not at all. ‘holds back tears’ NOT AT ALL. Eat shit Beth, with a cherry on top.
Alex Cranz, managing editor, The Verge
I heard she had a baby.
Andrew Couts, interim editor-in-chief, Gizmodo
Anytime I try to write one of these goddamn roasts, I just end up making fun of myself and saying nice things about the person I’m supposed to be roasting. So this time, I’m just going to skip the saying nice things and leave the mean stuff to people who are better at this than I am: Beth is a unique talent, capable of biting analysis, investigative reporting on highly sensitive stories, with a gravitational on-camera presence. Her contributions to io9 and Gizmodo as a whole are, frankly, immeasurable. The only bad thing I can say about her is that her infant son makes my dogs look far less cute by comparison, which I don’t appreciate at all. You will be sorely missed, Beth! Good luck in navigating the South.
Dharna Noor, staff writer, Earther
Beth, I’m so stoked to see what you do next. Also just because we don’t work together doesn’t mean I’m not going to hit you up when Dune comes out! –
Rob Bricken, former editor-in-chief, io9 (now, a layabout)
The shittiest part about hiring Beth full-time was losing the best weekend editor the site ever had. Also, when videos rolled around I didn’t so much put Beth in charge of them as much as I used her as a human shield to protect myself from having to deal with them. I think she’d agree with that, though.
Marina Galperina, features editor at Gizmodo
I will remember Beth as a warrior and a treasure, both as a sensitive, inspired journalist and critic, and a righteous and fiery fellow union bargaining committee rep. She is one of my favorite nerds I’ve ever met and her lucky kid will be immersed in delightful weirdness. I hope she starts a band again and channels her media experience thus far into pointed lyrics and melodious screeching. I would go see this band.
Bryan Menegus, former news editor, Gizmodo
I’m still kicking myself that it took five entire years to work with you on a story. Congratulations again on a great run, and on successfully talent-scouting the first cast member for Gizmodo: The Next Generation.
Myra Iqbal, former video producer
Beth, I’ll always remember the comic con madness as one of my favorite times at giz and you were such a big part of it. It was an absolute joy working with you! Thank you for all the fun stories and for your kindness as a colleague. I wish you the best in your adventures ahead and of course the biggest adventure of them all: motherhood! Sending you much love.
Eleanor Fye, former video producer, gizmodo / io9 / earther
It’s truly a shame that all the work Beth put in on io9’s Game of Thrones video coverage was in service of the worst TV show finale of all time. David Benioff and D.B. Weiss manage, as always, to ruin everything they put their grubby little hands on. That pair of failsons retroactively tarnished the work of women they’d never even met, which is… honestly, almost impressive.
Beth is nothing if not a talented and tenacious journalist. Her exhaustively-researched expose on Vic Mognogna led to real change for the voice acting community. She was thrown curveball after curveball while reporting it, and I remember feeling deeply glad that someone as persistent as Beth was pursuing it. Whatever she does next will be interesting, for sure!
Katharine Trendacosta, Associate Director of Policy and Activism, Electronic Frontier Foundation (former managing editor, io9)
I still remember the first time Beth visited the io9 office in New York. She and I were walking from the subway to a bar and she leaned in close and asked, in a whisper, “What’s with all the trash bags on the street?” In that moment, I knew. This was not someone who belonged in New York City. A true New Yorker would not blink at the city’s quaint tradition of just piling trash in bags on the sidewalk, occasionally forgetting about them when it snows, and inviting rats to a party. I hadn’t been born and raised in New York, but I had never once questioned the garbage. It just seemed right.
And truly, Beth’s tendency to question the presence of garbage is probably why she cannot stay in New York or at G/O Media any longer. Fly free, whatever the opposite of pizza rat is.
Joanna Nelius, Senior Editor, Electronics at Reviewed, part of the USA TODAY network
Beth, I’m terrible at roasting people. I’m sure everyone else is going to say super clever and witty things, but I only have nice things to say. I don’t think I ever properly thanked you for putting those tabletop RPG sessions together. I had a blast, and they couldn’t have come at a better time. You made me feel welcome and at home so soon after I joined the Gizmodo team, and I’ll be forever grateful. io9 is losing one hell of a reporter, but I know you’ll continue to kick butt where ever you land next! Live long and prosper!
Shoshana Wodinsky, staff reporter
I’m sorry you had to be privy to the weird convos you undoubtedly overheard while our cubicles were… right next to each other. That said, please keep sharing those good good pics of your baby in those good good hats wherever possible.
Matthew Reyes, video producer
I remember the time when Beth checked me from hooting and hollering at the original Sarah Connor, the great Linda Hamilton, during a red carpet event at Comic Con. She saw it coming, the wide eyed fandomness from me that everyone has when they see a popular thespian in the flesh.” We don’t do that here,” she said softly yet stern. I wasn’t mad at all, yet more so in awe of her. She held journalistic integrity and professionalism above all, and not releasing her fandomness—which she has in spade—in any shape or form in front of the camera with anyone in the industry, even in front of THE Terminator Killer herself. I learned a lot that day. And I thank Beth for that.
And to Beth, io9 isn’t be the same without your presence. I hate goodbyes, so i’ll end on this: I’ll see you later.
It’s absolutely destroying me to type these words: Kevin Conroy, my Batman, has passed away at the age of 66. He’s survived by his husband Vaughn C. Williams, sister Trisha Conroy, and brother Tom Conroy.
Conroy was everything. If you’re of a certain age, you most likely share my sentiments. Batman: The Animated Series debuted on September 5, 1992, and completely changed my life and the lives of so many others. Conroy is undoubtedly one of the reasons for…all this. (*gestures widely at The Nerdy Bird blog*). Sure, I’d seen Adam West as the Caped Crusader first, but there was something about Conroy’s voice-acting portrayal that connected with me. No matter who picked up the role on the big screen, no one could compare. My Batman inspired me to do the best I could every single day and never give up hope.
Conroy cemented his place in DC history early on and continued to voice Bruce Wayne/Batman in several other animated series, films, and video games. Then, in 2019, we were all blessed to finally see him step into the role in live-action. The CW’s Arrowverse crossover that year included an older, alternate Earth Batman who went down a very dark path. It was a brief but tremendous opportunity and Conroy completely ate it up.
Diane Pershing —the voice of Poison Ivy in BTAS—first posted about Conroy’s passing on her Facebook page. Warner Bros. later sent out a press release. “Kevin was far more than an actor whom I had the pleasure of casting and directing – he was a dear friend for 30+ years whose kindness and generous spirit knew no boundaries,” said his longtime casting/dialogue director Andrea Romano. “Kevin’s warm heart, delightfully deep laugh and pure love of life will be with me forever.”
“Kevin brought a light with him everywhere,” said Paul Dini, producer of BTAS, “whether in the recording booth giving it his all, or feeding first responders during 9/11, or making sure every fan who ever waited for him had a moment with their Batman. A hero in every sense of the word. Irreplaceable. Eternal.”
Truly, if you’ve never read about Conroy’s amazing life, I highly encourage you to take some time to do so (Just one example: His roommate at Julliard was Robin Williams!). Honestly, I thought I loved him before but when I learned more about him as an adult I was thrilled to find out that this person I admired so much was an incredible human being in real life as well as in animation.
Over the course of the last 14 years, I had the privilege to meet Conroy twice. Both were at Paley Center events to promote Warner Bros.’s latest DC animated films. In what is probably the most unprofessional moment of my career, I once asked him if he’d mind recording a voicemail greeting for me as Batman. I knew he must have gotten asked that about a thousand times in his life but he did it with a smile. The true professional he was, he made sure to have the pronunciation of my name correct before he recorded. It goes like this: “This is Batman. Jill Pantozzi can’t come to the phone right now, she’s in the Batcave helping me out.” I’m never changing it.
He was the night. He was Batman. He was Kevin Conroy.
Kevin Conroy. Photo courtesy Warner Bros.
What follows is a reprinting of my interview with Conroy for The Mary Sue in 2012.
For many superhero fans, Kevin Conroy is THE Batman. Although he’s only ever voiced the character, he’s held onto the role for over twenty years now and has become synonymous with the caped crusader. At the premiere of the latest Warner Home Video feature, Justice League: Doom, we got a chance to speak with the seasoned actor about his long run with the character, how he sees Batman, and how voice acting for video games like Batman: Arkham City, is a lot harder than it would appear.
It’s easy to assume Conroy has been typecast as Batman. Starting with his time on Batman: The Animated Series, fans immediately believed he was the voice of the iconic character. It’s both helped and hindered the actor through the years.
“I assumed it would be a totally anonymous job, you would think it would be a totally anonymous job, but with the internet that’s just not the case anymore,” he said. “People stop me all the time and say, ‘We know you. Aren’t you Kevin Conroy?’ And I say well, ‘Have we met? Do I know you?’ and they’re, ‘You’re Batman!’ So it’s much less anonymous than you’d think. Much less anonymous than it was twenty years ago, doing animation voices.”
Conroy attended Juilliard in New York when he was just seventeen and has a great deal of classical experience. “So I had a pretty well-established career before the animation work so it hasn’t really been limiting,” he said. “In terms of voice work, it’s somewhat limiting because it’s such an identifiable role in terms of animation. It is harder to get other animation jobs.”
Because of his background, Conroy put a lot of thought into developing the voice originally. “[I] found the sound, not by imposing it on my throat,” he said, “by sort of getting into the head of the guy from an internal place, just getting to a dark, what I felt was a very painful place. That the pain was you. It’s not the kind of thing you can just click on and off.”
One thing the actor has to struggle with in his career though is those who want him to approach Batman differently. “Depending on the scriptwriter and depending on the director, they all bring their ideas. Invariably they say, ‘We want to try this, we want to try that’ and I always have to try and kind of nudge them a little bit and say, ‘You know, the audience is so loyal to this character they’ll know in a second if the sound isn’t genuine and if it’s not the sound of Batman, of who they know. So trust me on this, you’ve got to be true to the guy.’”
Conroy isn’t a regular comic book reader, rather, he enjoys historical novels, especially biographies. That hobby may have helped him to form his Batman as well. “Well, the way I’ve approached it is that Bruce is the performance. That was my first take on it, was that putting on the cape and the cowl isn’t putting on a costume. That’s where he feels the most comfortable and can be himself,” he said. “Putting on a costume for this guy is putting on a business suit and a tie and performing for Gotham City. That’s the performance. That’s how I’ve approached it and I think the audience picks up on that.”
While Batman tends to steal the show no matter what project he’s in, in Justice League: Doom, he’s the impetus for the entire story. Batman’s contingency plans for if/when any member of the League goes rogue are stolen by their enemies and the fact that he had them in the first place causes strife within the team.
Conroy appreciates that even though Batman is a hero, he’s not perfect. “I think what’s made Batman such an iconic role for so long, is the fact that he’s not a superhero, he’s human. And he has those two faces, the private face and the public face. The personal tragedy that he then uses to try and heal the world with but it’s always those two sides to him and people relate to that,” he said. “Everybody’s got a personal side and a public side, we all have a different face we present to the world. So people relate to that about Batman and in the Justice League, his being the only non-superhero, he’s always been the outsider.”
He continued, “I think everyone has a piece of the other in them, and in this episode or this movie, it’s really exaggerated, that situation because his being the only non-superhero, he’s thought of a way to…in case any of them ever got out of control, he had a way to neutralize them. And that ends up being a source of betrayal for them when he was trying to do the right thing, it ends up being used as a great source of evil.”
A lot of actors have voiced the Justice League over the years but Conroy has played Batman a majority of the time he’s been animated. Do other actors mind that he, in a sense, is hogging the role? “Well, they’re a little jealous. I get a lot of that actually. ‘We’re happy for you and we hate you.’ It was dumb luck, I mean it was also just an example of the right voice for the right character at the right time. It was just kismet,” he said.
Of course, in recent years, the actor has had much success in voicing Batman in Rocksteady’s Arkham Asylum/Arkham City video games. But unfortunately, it’s a much bigger job for Conroy than his work on the animated series or films, he says there’s no comparison.
“You’re alone in a booth like four-hour chunks of time, literally. Four hours in the morning, an hour for lunch, and four hours in the afternoon. Day after day after day after day. Just you,” he said. “Because think about it, as the game is played, depending on how it’s played, there’s hundreds of variables, thousands of variables the direction the character is going to go. You’re voicing for all of that. It’s really mind-numbing and you also don’t get the input from the other actors…When you’re alone you can’t do that so you’ve got to be self-motivating and you’ve got to keep the character alive and fresh and believable.”
Speaking of other actors, Conroy’s foil in both B:TAS and the video games is the Joker, voiced by Star Wars actor Mark Hamill. Hamill has said in recent years that he’d be retiring from the voice but would almost always return if Conroy was involved. We asked how Conroy feels about it.
“I can’t imagine it without him. And we work so well together,” Conroy said. “I wish that the audience could…because I know he has a huge and loyal following, and the audience does know how great he is, but if they could see him in the recording studio they would have 100 times more admiration for him because he’s a really talented actor and his whole body gets thrown into the performance. I mean, it looks like the guy’s gonna devour the microphone, he’s just so all over the studio. He’s a very exciting guy to work with, he’s a very creative, intelligent actor. Much more than the average actor.”
And what about his own retirement? Conroy doesn’t see it happening anytime soon. “[Laughs] I can’t see it but you know, there’s gonna be other people doing it I’m sure. Like the live-action movies they’ve had so many different actors doing them and it’s interesting to see how a different actor has a take on the role.
Conroy feels that Christian Bale is the best of the live-action Batman actors and that Heath Ledger’s Joker in the Dark Knight was “inspiring.”
Seeing as how Batman has been popular for 75 years, we wondered what the actor thought about the character’s future. Would he maintain that kind of popularity for another 75 and beyond?
“I don’t think there’s any question about that,” said Conroy. “I think there’s a timelessness about him that the writers really locked into a gold mine with this character. He’s the archetypical hero. Being tested by fire in his youth, overcoming tragedy, and using his life to conquer evil. It’s an archetype in literature and everyone relates to that, everyone wants to be a hero.”
He then related to us a story that was in the news not too long ago.
“There was an incident in New York, I think it was last year or the year before where a guy fainted and fell onto the subway track. And an everyday guy, just a guy standing on the platform had the presence of mind, not just to be brave enough to jump in and save the person, which I pray to god I would have the courage to do, this guy had the courage to jump in and lay down on top of the person in the bed of the tracks knowing, like Batman would know, that if you lay down, you’ll both be safe because you’ll be cleared by the trains,” he said. “Can you imagine the terror that any of us would feel to jump and lay down under a subway track to save a stranger’s life? I mean, when I heard this story I thought, ‘This guy’s Batman.’”
Conroy didn’t give us any hints as to his next animation work but says he’s been working on video games for the last few years and will be continuing that for a while.
(@JillPantozzi) 
