Batman: Caped Crusader’s Joker Talks Living up to Mark Hamill (Exclusive)

In Batman: Caped Crusader’s second season, the Amazon Prime Video animated series once again focused on recreating various villains from the Dark Knight’s rogues’ gallery. While season two re-imagined the likes of the Riddler, Mad Hatter, Thorn, and Scarecrow, there was one villain that most everyone was excited to see with a new aesthetic. Teased at the end of season one, the Joker made his official debut as the big bad of Batman’s latest animated season. Recently, we here at ComicBook.com had the opportunity to talk with Matthew Needham, the new voice actor for the Joker, who talked about living up to Mark Hamill.

Needham, for those who have yet to see his performance as the DC Comics villain, brought to life a very different Joker. Sporting a European accent and mostly played as deadly serious, only laughing once during his appearances, the House of the Dragon star was more than happy to step into the clown’s shoes: “I’ve had to keep the secret of being the Joker for too long. It was incredibly daunting because I was a huge fan of the original animated series. Anyone who voices the Joker is in the shadow of Mark Hamill, but if you start measuring yourself against past voices, you’ll be too scared to do anything. The great gift of this situation is that this Joker was far different from any other interpretation.”

Joker Vs. Batman

At the same time as we spoke with Needham, we here at ComicBook.com had the opportunity to talk with the Dark Knight himself, Hamish Linklater. Ironically enough, this year’s San Diego Comic-Con was the first time that the two had ever met, despite both leading the charge in Batman: Caped Crusader. “We met today, which is surreal.” Needham confessed, “I loved his version of Batman, and it was very useful for me in the booth to imagine his voice coming back to me.”

Linklater then further expanded on his eventual showdown with this new take on the Clown Prince of Crime: “For me, I had no idea how the Joker was going to work. Seeing and hearing Matt in the role was love at first sight.”

Also taking part in the interview was Caped Crusader’s Executive Producer, James Tucker, who dove further into the origins of this new Joker: “It was basically German expressionism as a movement in film. Primarily, the actor Conrad Veidt who played ‘The Man Who Laughs,’ and was also in The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. We wanted to make our Joker sound ‘continental’ or ‘international’ sounding. The idea in the writing room is that this Joker had been everywhere; he was in Europe causing havoc. He was literally a wild card. We were thinking of all the things that make film noir.”