Vocal chameleon Alan Tudyk is about to add another credit to his resume, as he will bring to life the iconic Joker for the new ‘Harley Quinn’ animated series.
To most die-hard DC fans, there will never be another Joker other than Mark Hamill, who voiced the character several times. The most notable among those being ‘Batman: The Animated Series.’ Fans would be hard-pressed not to compare Tudyk to Hamill.
Of course, no one has thought about this more than Tudyk himself, and he has revealed that he will not try to recreate the wheel. In a recent interview, Tudyk opened up about his role on the upcoming animated series.
When asked about his take on the character, Tudyk said:
“I don’t know. I don’t know. Again, I don’t know. Here’s a funny story, Tony Hale plays Psycho, Doctor Psycho. He came in, and I’d said, ‘Hi,’ and he didn’t, I don’t know, I’d just finished recording and he was coming in to record and he was talking to the producer saying, ‘Oh yeah, the Joker, did y’all get Mark Hamill to do that?’ And I said, ‘No, they got me. I’m doing the Joker.’ Oh, he said, ‘Did you get Mark Hamill to do that ’cause if you didn’t get him it’s going to suck.’ ‘I’m doing the Joker.’ And he said, ‘Oh, I’m just saying that because I did the Joker and everybody said, ‘You’re not Mark Hamill. You suck.”
He continued, saying:
“So knowing I can’t be Mark Hamill, I haven’t listened to Mark Hamill. I have heard him, but I didn’t watch it so I couldn’t recreate it. He’s different in the way that he can cuss. I think that’s probably referring to be able to say, ‘Ah, fuck off.’ Having that in your ability and your Joker is fun. It’s a very funny cartoon, animated series, so I think the style of it lends itself to allowing more flexibility. I don’t know, man. I don’t know. I think I’m doing some of my voice and sometimes I’ll hear it, and when I watch the previews of it all, and I just sound like me. I hope it’s okay. I’m just hoping, yeah I hope it’s okay.”
Tudyk’s Joker will appear alongside Kaley Cuoco’s Harley Quinn for the new animated series. The series is expected to hit the DC Universe sometime this fall. ‘Doom Patrol’ is the next series to arrive on the streaming service, with its first episode premiering on Friday, February 15th.
