Terry McGinnis Voice Actor Will Friedle Wants To See Batman Beyond Brought Back
After "The New Batman Adventures" ended, the production team was ordered to create a cartoon about Batman in high school. The result of this attempt to cash in on the success of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" was "Batman Beyond." Set in the far future, an elderly Bruce Wayne mentors the new Batman — teenager Terry McGinnis — in cyberpunk Neo Gotham.
The late Kevin Conroy reprised his role as Bruce while Terry was voiced by Will Friedle. At the time, Friedle was best known for his role in the sitcom "Boy Meets World." However, "Batman Beyond" shaped his career trajectory. Instead of remaining a sitcom actor, Friedle became mostly a voice actor in action cartoons.
Among his later roles include Ron Stoppable on "Kim Possible," the Blue Beetle in "Batman: The Brave and the Bold," and Bumblebee in "Transformers: Prime." As a nod to Friedle's past role, "Kim Possible" even included a "Batman Beyond" parody — the episode "The Fearless Ferret" was about Ron becoming the successor to the eponymous superhero (voiced by Adam West).
In a May 2022 interview with ComicBookMovie.com, Friedle expressed interest in seeing a proper "Batman Beyond" revival too: "It's a character who is so important to me, I would love to do more episodes."
What type of revival?
Will Friedle explained why he's up to playing Terry again after 20 years: "One of the joys of being a voice-over actor is your voice doesn't necessarily age. It does a little bit, but you can be 45 and still play 17 if you can hit the register." Indeed, if you listen to Friedle's current voice, it doesn't sound far off from what it was in 1999.
However, another of the reasons Friedle wanted another shot at "Batman Beyond" was a chance to work with Kevin Conroy again. That's tragically no longer possible. A "Batman Beyond" revival wouldn't need Bruce Wayne — he was in his twilight years during the original series — but his absence would still cast a shadow. Recasting the part should also be a non-starter.
Friedle does sound open to a "Batman Beyond" revival even if he's not involved. He opined: "Seeing a live-action version would be great. Just seeing the character again is awesome. He's had such a rich life in the comic book world and I think he deserves to come back on screen in some form."
Indeed, Terry has appeared in plenty of comics over the years since "Batman Beyond" wrapped up — the new series "Batman Beyond: Neo-Gothic" is set to begin on July 25, 2023. As for a live-action "Batman Beyond," many have tried — everyone from Clint Eastwood to Michael Keaton has been in the running for the retired Bruce Wayne. Recently, there was also a plan to do an animated "Batman Beyond" film as DC's answer to "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse."
While none of these attempts have gotten off the ground, the idea of a "Batman Beyond" has evidently been floating at Warner Bros. Since the 30-year nostalgia cycle has hit the 1990s, a "Batman Beyond" revival does seem like an inevitability. It's less certain what that revival will look like.