Hamill Talks Joker

By: Rob Allstetter
Date: Friday, August 04, 2000

Mark Hamill quickly found out that the Joker in Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (the Oct. 24 straight-to-video movie) isn't quite the same as the character he's voiced the last eight years. 'We're playing him darker this time,' producer Bruce Timm said. 'One thing that threw Mark initially the first day is that we said that we don't want him to be quite as manic as he was. He's a different kind of Joker. The initial design theory was that he was Hannibal Lecter, although he doesn't eat people. Mark said, 'Well that's interesting.' He still has the maniacal laugh and things, but he's much more scarier.'

'It was different this time with fitting into another cast. Also, the Joker is a different Joker,' Hamill said. 'I couldn't slip on the old glove. I had to look at it as a whole different animal.' Hamill called getting the chance to play the Joker again 'an unexpected pleasure,' adding, 'I have to tell you the quality of the script is so high; I really relished the role. I never expected to find a character as rich as this one in animation. So I consider myself very, very fortunate.'

Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker promises to answer a lot of questions and bridge the gap between the Batman and Batman Beyond series. Look for the original Bat-crew, including the Bruce Wayne Batman, Nightwing, Robin and Batgirl, to appear in the film. 'It does have a flashback sequence that does take place in the classic animated Batman world,' Timm said. 'Beyond that, I don't want to say a whole lot because I don't want to spoil any of the surprises. It's full of action, a lot of humor, a lot of heart and a lot of tragedy.'


Timm added that the DVD will include lots of extra goodies and that there will also be a soundtrack released.