As we get closer to the May 29 release date for LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight, the voice actor playing the role of the Caped Crusader in the upcoming action-adventure game has spoken about portraying the legendary character. In an interview with GamesRadar, Shai Matheson—known for his work on titles like Final Fantasy 16 (Lubor) and Xenoblade Chronicles 3 (Cammuravi)—revealed that he’s been a fan of Batman for his entire life.
He also went on to note how his portrayal of the superhero was based on Michael Keaton’s depiction from 1989’s Batman. “I’ve been a Batman fan my whole life, so I feel like it’s all in my veins. I’ve watched the films since I was probably too young. Batman Returns is my favorite film of all time, regardless of Batman,” said Matheson, referring to the Keaton-led 1992 sequel to Tim Burton’s Batman. “Michael Keaton was always my go-to Batman,” he continued. “I think it was sort of in me all along.”
“I’ve watched everything before doing it – I watched all the films again, I watched a lot of clips on YouTube of different things, different Arkham clips, just tried to immerse myself.”
Matheson also spoke about having his name join the star-studded list of actors who have portrayed Batman over the years, from Keaton to Kevin Conroy, who portrayed the superhero in Batman: The Animated Series as well as Rocksteady’s Batman: Arkham series. “First of all, in voice, Kevin Conroy is the go-to, the greatest of all time. So, it’s very scary,” he said, before going on to note that he is “petrified to join this list of people that have contributed their voice and their acting talent to this game and to this character.”
When it comes to portraying the character, Matheson said that he feels “unbelievably humbled to be doing it. I feel like a competition winner to just be involved.”
Matheson being a fan of Batman seems like a great fit for LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight, especially since developer TT Games’ strategic director Johnathan Smith had spoken about wanting to draw on a wide variety of Batman fiction for the upcoming title.
“So, it’s a fusion of all those iconic moments that you remember, laced and woven with deep cut references and our own humorous jokes, to bring the experience of becoming the Dark Knight to life for players,” said Smith back in September. “We draw upon them all, and we bring them together, and then we create one story that unifies and is essential.”
“We feel it’s a huge privilege,” he continued. “We feel we’ve got the richest amount of material to draw from, and we are so excited that no one’s ever put all those pieces together in one experience with a video game. We can do that in a way that no one’s ever seen or experienced before, with new technology and a really immersive Gotham city, with mechanics that progress the player experience to match the emotional journey of the character.”
For more details about LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight, check out how TT Games plans to “distill decades of fantastic storytelling” with the game.
