New Suicide Squad trailer a bittersweet tribute

A new trailer for Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League debuted at The Game Awards, but it became bittersweet when a late actor was revealed to be involved

Rocksteady, the developer behind the critically acclaimed Batman Arkham games, has unveiled a bittersweet trailer for its upcoming game, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League.

The trailer featured the Suicide Squad after having captured The Flash, in an intense scene clearly showcasing the mature themes of the DC Universe. It all comes to a climax when Batman joins the fray, ready to take on the villains.

It was a bittersweet moment, however, as it was revealed that Batman would be voiced by the late Kevin Conroy, who passed away last month at the age of 66 after battling cancer. Conroy had finished recording his lines for the upcoming game prior to his passing. The trailer ended with a touching tribute to Conroy, with a message from the developers saying “Thank You Kevin”.

Kevin Conroy has been voicing the role of Bruce Wayne and Batman for over 30 years across a number of different media. His first role as the caped crusader was in 1992’s Batman: The Animated Series, a role for which he garnered critical acclaim.

Conroy subsequently played the role in dozens of movies, TV series, and video games, including the Batman Arkham games, fighting game Injustice and its sequel, Multiversus, and DC Universe Online. It’s not currently known if Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League will be Conroy’s last outing as the caped crusader, but it’s likely among very few projects Conroy recorded before his death.

Rocksteady Games, the developer behind Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, revealed that the game will be launching on the PS5, Xbox Series S and X, and PC on May 26, 2023.

The new trailer featured a touching tribute to late Batman actor Kevin Conroy, who passed away last month. Picture: Warner Bros. Interactive

It’s not the only game set in the Batman universe to be released this year. Gotham Knights released in late-October, focusing on Nightwing, Batgirl, Robin, and Red Hood, following Batman’s death. The game is unrelated to the continuity of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, however, and released to middling reviews from critics.

The Game Awards saw plenty of games given release dates when it aired on Friday afternoon. Final Fantasy 16 is coming sooner than expected, after Square Enix revealed it would be released in June in a flashy new trailer that showed off much more of the game’s combat and summoning systems.

New Horizon Forbidden West DLC was announced too, but it’s only coming to PS5. Despite the base game releasing on the PS4 as well as the PS5, Sony has said that the scope and complexity of the expansion, subtitled The Burning Shores, is too much for the PS4 to handle.

Written by Oliver Brandt on behalf of GLHF.