Bats is back: Kevin Conroy returns for Batman: Arkham Origins [Updated]

Update 2: In a now deleted tweet ( captured by Reddit ), Kevin Conroy said, "Confusion in Dallas! I am in new ARKHAM GAME coming soon, NOT ARKHAM ORIGINS coming this fall."

Update 1: In a statement to IGN , Warner Bros say, "Roger Craig Smith is confirmed as the voice of Batman and Troy Baker is confirmed as the voice of The Joker in Batman: Arkham Origins."

In which case, Conroy's part in the game is still unannounced. What we do know is that Arkham Origins is a series prequel, meaning Conroy could be returning as the older incarnation of Batman in some capacity. Until an official announcement is made, though, the nature of his involvement is speculation.

Original: Kevin Conroy has announced that he'll be reprising the role of Batman [Update: involved in some unknown capacity] in Arkham Origins. While the actor had played the role in both previous Arkhams, as well as various animated incarnations, it had been reported that Warner Brothers had dropped him for the impending prequel. Conroy confirmed his involvement at the Dallas Comic Con; the rumour of his departure presumably started by some joker... Or, perhaps, the Joker...

"I can talk about it now," Conroy said during the panel. "We've been working for about nine or ten months on the next Arkham game. We all signed contracts so we weren't allowed to talk about it. The studio likes to completely control the rollout of any product, so they don't like us to talk about anything, but it's now been announced.

"It's an unbelievable game, I still can't say anything about it, and you don't want me to anyway because it will ruin it for you, but it's amazing. It's a huge, huge cast, and a big story. It took almost a year of writing to put it together. They've been working on it a long time."

It's good news. While I think I could have lived with another actor, Conroy does bring a well-personified prim uptightness to the caped crusader. He's certainly more nuanced a character than Christian Bale's 10 packs a day growly-man film version.

Batman: Arkham Origins is due out October 25th.

Thanks, CVG .