Kevin Conroy, the gay voice actor best known for voicing Bruce Wayne and Batman in countless animated DC Comics projects, died from intestinal cancer in late 2022. Many fans believed that his role in 2024’s Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths: Part 3 would be his final bow.
It turns out, that’s not the case — it seems fans have one last outing with the legendary talent coming very soon. And, no, it’s not one last swan song as the Dark Knight, either.
According to an official press release from Netflix, it’s been confirmed that the very familiar booming voiceover you heard in this week’s all-new trailer for Devil May Cry is indeed Conroy, who will posthumously star in the animated series as a character named VP Baines.
Based on the popular Capcom video game franchise of the same name, Devil May Cry is the latest action-packed anime project from producer and showrunner Adi Shankar (Dredd), who brought us the bloody and beautifully violent Castlevania, another critically praised animated adaptation based on a popular game. The high-octane trailer, which has already earned over 1.1 million views in just over a day, can be seen below.
Per the official Devil May Cry plot synopsis provided by Netflix: “Sinister forces are at play to open the portal between the human and demon realms. In the middle of it all is Dante, an orphaned demon-hunter-for-hire, unaware that the fate of both worlds hangs around his neck.”
Conroy’s role in Devil May Cry comes as a total surprise — the project isn’t even listed on his official IMDB page — but fans were ecstatic about the big reveal nonetheless. And in case you’re wondering as to whether or not it is entirely his real voice or mimicry produced by artificial intelligence, Shankar, who’s been very vocal about the project on social media, took to his official X account to shoot down any speculation about the beloved voice actor’s likeness being produced or enhanced by AI technology.
“Was recorded before he passed. No AI used. Mr. Conroy gave it amazingly nuanced performance,” wrote Shankar. “It was both a pleasure and an honor to work with him.”
Johnny Yong Bosch, who voices Dante, the dashing demon hunter and cocky lead hero of the Devil May Cry series, also took to X and expressed his admiration for the late actor, explaining to fans that Conroy’s voice in the project is indeed the real deal.
“It was an honor to work alongside Kevin Conroy for the upcoming DMC series. A true legend,” wrote Bosch. “Batman: The Animated Series redefined cartoons for me. For those wondering, our recording sessions took place a few years ago — animation takes quite some time to complete.”
Rounding out the cast alongside Conroy and Bosch are Scout Taylor-Compton as Mary, Hoon Lee as White Rabbit, Chris Coppola as Enzo.
The extent of Conroy’s role as VP Baines in Devil May Cry remains to be seen, but either way, it’s awesome that fans of the legendary actor get to have one last unexpected outing with him. And based on the hyper-violent trailer alone (and Shankar’s kick-ass track record), we could have another animated masterpiece on our hands. Let the demon hunting begin!
