Mark Hamill to reprise his role as voice of The Joker in Arkham Asylum game

This is the absolute best news I've heard all day. Warner Brothers has confirmed that the character of Joker in the upcoming Batman: Arkham Asylum will be voiced by Mark Hamill. Hamill has previously performed the part in Batman: The Animated Series, Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker and several Batman videogames that I'd prefer not to mention.

I really, really liked Heath Ledger's performance in The Dark Knight, but this is my Joker. Hamill's voice so clearly rings out in my mind from years of associating it with the role that I simply cannot imagine anybody else playing the part. I was very disappointed to see that he wasn't lending his voice talents to the more recent animated series, The Batman, but their re-imagining of that character sucks anyway (as opposed to some other characters, such as Clayface, that really had new life breathed into them with this show).

As with all games based on this franchise, I'm still hesitant. Knowing that Hamill is involved is heartening but, as I said, we've trod down this path before. Still, having the opportunity to hear that mad cackle again is never entirely a bad thing.

[Via Kotaku]