Arkham Asylum 2 is "really, really dark"

Kevin Conroy, the man who Batman's voice belongs to, has revealed that Arkham Asylum 2 will be "really, really dark".

He said the game's tone will be reminiscent of moody animated film Batman Beyond: The Return of the Joker. "It involves a lot of the villains and goes to that area - it's that dark," said Conroy, speaking at last weekend's Chicago Comics & Entertainment Expo (attended by Comic Book Resources via IGN).

Conroy was hoodwinked by a member of the audience into revealing Two-Face as a villain in Arkham Asylum 2. He paused briefly upon realising his mistake and added, "There's a very complicated cast; a lot of villains are in it. I'll just leave it at that!"

Batman: Arkham Asylum 2 was revealed by Rocksteady in December 2009, and the developer was bought by Warner Bros. in February this year. No dates or even platforms have been revealed for the sequel. So far all we know is that The Joker and Harley Quinn will return.

Another interesting tidbit from the Conroy interview revealed that Mark Hamill wasn't first-pick to play The Joker in television's Batman: The Animated Series. To begin with, Rocky Horror star Tim Curry had been head-hunted for the part. However, Curry's portrayal was so menacing that Warner was worried it would terrifying the audience. Hamill was drafted in soon after. "Mark is psychotic with a smile. Tim was just psychotic to give you nightmares," recalled Conroy.

Conroy has worked with Hamill on the animated television series of Batman for years. Both reprised their roles for Arkham Asylum, but Conroy said the experience was very different. Conroy likened it to "some kind of homeland security torture", due to the amount of recording that needed to be done.

Oh, and Conroy added that Christian Bale's big-screen Batman voice was "ridiculous" and that someone should have told him so. Poor Bale was "steered wrong", Conroy said.