Fresh off The Death of Superman and Reign of the Supermen, Warner Bros. Animation will be adapting the acclaimed Batman story HUSH by Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee for 2019. The cast has been announced and, per ComicBookMovie, it includes Jason O’Mara, Jerry O’Connell, Tara Strong, Rainn Wilson, Bruce Thomas, and Vanessa Williams.
Those are some big names who have been attached to animated DC features and series before, but there are two veterans of DC and Batman cartoons left out, Mark Hamill and Kevin Conroy. Conroy and Hamill, the pioneers of DC’s Animated Universe, have played Batman and The Joker respectively for nearly 30 years. Conroy returns routinely for major ensemble releases that include Tim Daly as Superman — such as [easyazon_link identifier=”B005SH63KG” locale=”US” tag=”boundingintocomics-20″]Justice League: Doom[/easyazon_link].
Hamill’s Joker is a staple oft-imitated by others who take on the role. Joker is a key player in HUSH but only one of many pawns set loose on Batman by the villain Hush, a bandaged figure who may have ties to Bruce’s past. Hush manipulates many of Batman’s greatest foes in a mass conspiracy aimed at the Dark Knight. He even employs Poison Ivy to get control of Superman briefly, forcing Batman to fight him and rescue Lois Lane simultaneously.
Hamill and Conroy once stated they were interested in voicing an adaptation of HUSH, something they could bring in Daly or George Newbern (Superman in Justice League Unlimited) for. So it’s surprising this project is not a reunion for the old crew. Which cast members will play what characters was not revealed but speculation leans toward O’Mara as Batman (a role he’s as well known for as Conroy at this point), O’Connell back again as Superman for the third straight time in a year (he stepped into the role for Death of Superman and Reign of the Supermen back to back), and Tara Strong as Harley Quinn (or she could be Ivy).
[easyazon_link identifier=”1401276490″ locale=”US” tag=”boundingintocomics-20″]BATMAN: HUSH[/easyazon_link] was first published as a nearly yearlong arc starting in 2002. The saga unfolded in the pages of Batman issues 608-619 and was later compiled into graphic novels. HUSH is one of the most celebrated Batman stories of all time. Its events, rippling through continuity to this day, augured the return of Jason Todd and the Under the Hood storyline.