Batman Beyond is often talked about as part of Batman’s history that deserves to be revisited. More recently, the success of the Spider-Verse movies has prompted fan demand for a Batman Beyond movie that pairs unique animation styles with a futuristic aesthetic. Whether or not we’ll ever see Batman Beyond again remains to be seen, but there is one thing that may disappoint fans: Will Friedle won’t come back to play him.

Batman The Animated Series dominated cartoons of the 1990’s. But when the decade came to a close, it was time for a new Batman cartoon for a new era. Batman Beyond took place decades in the future and revolved around an original character, Terry McGinnis, as the new, teenage Batman. Will Friedle voiced Terry/Batman beginning with “Rebirth”, which aired on January 10th, 1999. It was a risky premise, but people loved the show. Batman Beyond ran for three seasons and spawned the direct to video movie, Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker.

After the series ended,  the world of Batman Beyond continued to be revisited from time to time. Terry McGinnis made one appearance on Static Shock, two appearances on Justice League Unlimited, had a short for Batman’s 75th anniversary, and, most recently, was in parts 2 and 3 of the animated movie, Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths. Will Friedle returned to voice him every time. However, just as Crisis on Infinite Earths was Kevin Conroy’s swan song as Batman due to the actor’s passing in November of 2022, it looks like it’ll also be Friedle’s final performance.

At GalaxyCon’s Animate! Columbus 2025, Will Friedle discussed playing Terry McGinnis again. He said that while he previously would have been eager to reprise the role, he now doesn’t want to play Terry without Kevin Conroy as Bruce Wayne. “Now that Kevin’s gone, I don’t know if I can do it again. I think they would need to recast both roles. Being Terry and not having him answer as Bruce, I don’t think I could do it,” Friedle said during the convention’s Q&A.

Friedle isn’t the only one who doesn’t want to return to a role if he can’t act opposite Kevin Conroy. Mark Hamill has also said that he would only play the Joker to Conroy’s Batman.

While this may be disappointing, it doesn’t rule out the possibility of more Batman Beyond some day. It just means that revisiting that world or even seeing a reboot will be a project without either Kevin Conroy or Will Friedle. The good news is, Will Friedle remains a very active voice actor. Some of his other significant roles in DC animation include the Kyle Rayner Green Lantern on Justice League Unlimited, Blue Beetle on Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Nightwing in the Batman Unlimited movies, and Kid Flash on Teen Titans Go!

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