Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League a "tribute" to late Batman actor Kevin Conroy, says director
"I think it's hard to overstate how important he's been."
The forthcoming Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League will be a tribute to the late Batman voice actor Kevin Conroy.
That's according to game director Axel Rydby who spoke to Eurogamer at a recent preview event at Rocksteady.
Indeed, the game includes a plaque in the Justice League base "in loving memory" of Conroy, along with a similar plaque for Arleen Sorkin who was the inspiration behind Harley Quinn.
"It was very emotional for all of us in the entire studio, it was so sad when he passed," said Rydby. "I think it's hard to overstate how important he's been to Batman as a character and the depiction of Batman. We were all really sad when it happened and we wanted it to be as much of a tribute as we could make it in the game.
"His performance as Batman in this game is stellar, as always. But he's taken Batman to a new place, I think in this game, where he's an older character. We know that Mr. Conroy really enjoyed his performance in the game and that was important to us that it felt like he liked what we were doing with the character as well."
Conroy passed away in 2022 aged 66 following a battle with cancer. He was known as the voice of Batman in the Animated Series, as well as Rocksteady's Arkham games, NetherRealm's fighter Injustice, and MultiVersus.
His posthumous inclusion in Suicide Squad therefore marks his final performance as Batman.
Conroy also wrote a short graphic novel about his life as a gay man in Hollywood as part of the DC Pride 2022 anthology, which DC released for free after his death.
Last year, the Switch release of Batman: Arkham Trilogy included a tribute to Conroy, with players shown a black and white drawing of Gotham with the text "in memory of Kevin Conroy".
Suicide Squad is set for release on 30th January across PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
Details of the game's story have already leaked, including the fate of Batman.