Jensen Ackles will be voicing Batman in the upcoming two-part DC animated film, Batman: The Long Halloween, but the former Supernatural star says he was surprised to land the part. Many different actors have brought their own unique spin to the caped crusader over the decades, both via voiceover as well as in live-action movies and shows. After The Long Halloween, Part 1 releases on June 22, Ackles will be able to add his name to that prestigious list.
Based on the acclaimed DC Comics series of the same name, Batman: The Long Halloween follows Bruce Wayne in the second year of his crime fighting campaign in Gotham City. The story centers around a mysterious serial killer called Holiday, who, as the name implies, kills on every successive holiday. The Long Halloween has been incredibly influential for modern Batman adaptations, including Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight, which features similar plotlines about a Gotham mob war and a three-way team-up between Batman, Jim Gordon, and Harvey Dent. The upcoming live-action reboot, The Batman, also looks like it will be taking major inspiration from The Long Halloween.
From what’s been shown in the trailers, Ackles is already doing a stellar job in his first turn as the Dark Knight, but he was apparently as surprised as anyone to learn of his casting, according to an interview with EW. Ackles previously voiced Jason Todd in the critically-acclaimed animated feature, Batman: Under the Red Hood, so when he got a call about a new project, he assumed he’d be playing that same character again. Read Ackles’ full quote below:
"I come from a previous film where I voiced Red Hood. So when I got the call for this, I assumed I would be reprising that role into whatever story these guys were adapting. But then I realized I'd gotten the upgrade! I don't think they even got the whole word 'Batman' out. They were like, 'Bat-' and I was like, yes!"
In reality, Ackles' jump from the Red Hood to Batman makes a lot of sense. His previous performance was widely praised by critics and fans, and he has the same kind of baritone gruffness that all-time Batman greats like Kevin Conroy have possessed. DC constantly changes up the voice actors for its major characters from one animated project to another, but it could be exciting if Ackles were to become the lead voice for Bruce Wayne for the next few years.
Post-Supernatural, Ackles seems to be diving deep into the ever-growing superhero genre. In addition to his vocal role as Batman, he’ll be playing original superhero Soldier Boy on Amazon’s massively popular series, The Boys. The star isn’t entirely a stranger to the genre, of course, as his character of Dean Winchester was basically a Constantine-esque superhero by the end of Supernatural. For both old fans and new, it should be fun to see Ackles stretch outside the role that made him famous and try on some new characters. His Bruce Wayne debut will come on June 22, when Batman: The Long Halloween, Part 1 releases.
Source: EW