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“Batman: The Animated Series” has, since its initial 1991 to 1995 run, become a widely beloved and highly praised piece of the Batman media canon, with many fans calling the late Kevin Conroy the best actor to have ever played the role. Although based on Burton’s Gothic aesthetic, “The Animated Series” emerged as an entity of its own, telling stories of grief, violence, and madness beyond the typical maturity level of most Saturday morning cartoons. The series even debuted in primetime, so confident the producers were of its appeal to older audiences. In the series, Hamill played the Joker much differently than Cesar Romero and Jack Nicholson that had come before. His Joker was a cackling maniac, yes, but also a comedically pathetic, put-upon figure. This was a joker that did indeed crack wise, and did indeed do some palpable harm on Gotham City, but who occasionally hated that no one got his jokes or that his schemes didn’t work out (the Joker Fish episode is gold).
Hamill recalled the above-mentioned Keaton controversy sharply, saying:
“I just read for it. […] I had a confidence that really helped me because there was this big outcry that Michael Keaton was gonna play Batman. ‘Oh, he’s Mr. Mom, he’s a comedy actor.’ I mean, they hadn’t even seen him, and they didn’t realize how great he would become. But, there was great controversy.”
At that time, Hamill knew how he was perceived in the pop culture firmament. It had been eight years since he had last played the role of Luke Skywalker, but he understood that some casting agents could still only see that role in him. But then, if Keaton was only known for comedies and he could be Batman, why not buck the typecasting?
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