Batman Strangles Mark Hamill (February 1, 2009)

[Bandit LOAF]

Death reports that Mark Hamill is reprising his role as The Joker in an upcoming Batman video game, Arkham Asylum. It's great to see Hamill working in video games - hopefully a Wing Commander relaunch could be done with the same type of voicework/realistic CGI combination. Kotaku says:

The big star, though, is Mark Hamill as The Joker. I’m glad they got him instead of going for a Heath Ledger sound-alike –- it solidifies Arkham Asylum as a Batman game that stands apart from the movies. Besides, the role of main psychopath is a demanding one. From beginning to game over screen, the pinstripe-sporting super villain is there, taunting the caped crusader, goading him and generally being absolutely crazy at every opportunity. You need a star like Hamill to carry the performance.

There's an interesting Electronic Arts connection here, too. EA had the 'Batman' license until December 2008. A series of development issues prevented them from putting out a planned Dark Knight game - first for the release of the movie and then for the release of the DVD. The studio behind the attempt, Pandemic, was among the first laid off several weeks ago. It's not a good time to screw up with that amount of money...

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Original update published on February 1, 2009

 

[frostytheplebe]

I have to agree with the bit about the whole Heath Ledger (rest his soul) sound-alike. Though I thought he did a half decent job, it might have been interesting to see Mark Hamil actually playing the joker in the movie... though I admit I had a hard time believe that mark hamil was the voice of the joker in the cartoon series until i heard him giggle at the end of Jay and Silent Bob.