Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight's new Batman is feeling the weight of joining the list of actors to take on the role of the caped crusader.
Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight is a weird hybrid adventure. Rather than retelling the history of Batman over the course of retelling films, it instead lifts elements from the history of Batman – like the Penguin chase in The Batman or Heath Ledger's Joker – to create an original story told over an open-world Gotham akin to the Arkham series. And because of this, rather than using film clips, TT Games has enlisted Final Fantasy 16 and Xenoblade Chronicles 3 actor Shai Matheson to take on the role.
"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" Matheson explained, speaking to GamesRadar+.
Matheson, who says, "Michael Keaton was always my go-to Batman," explains, "I think it was sort of in me all along." Despite the lifelong Batman fandom, Matheson studied the scrolls. "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."
When asked how he felt joining the list of iconic names who have played the role, Matheson says, "First of all, in voice, Kevin Conroy is the go-to, the greatest of all time. So, it's very scary." He adds 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."
But despite the fears, Matheson is " unbelievably humbled to be doing it. I feel like a competition winner to just be involved."
James Gunn says Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight will let players experience the character "maybe as fully as they ever have."
