Ricky Church chats with Batman and Superman: Battle of the Super Sons star Laura Bailey…
Batman, Superman and various members of the Justice League are often the headliners in Warner Bros. Animation’s DC films, but their most recent film is turned not only on the sidekicks, but Batman and Superman’s sons Jonathan Kent and Damien Wayne. Batman and Superman: Battle of the Super Sons follows Jon and Damian as they are the only superheroes to save their parents and the world from a dangerous alien invader.
We spoke with voice actress Laura Bailey on her role as Lois Lane in the film. Bailey has had an extensive career in voice acting, prominently starring in the Spider-Man series as Gwen Stacy and the 2018 video game as Mary Jane Watson, Vex’ahlia in The Legend of Vox Machina and Abby in The Last of Us Part II as well as several other video games. Battle of the Super Sons also marks a special project for her as Bailey’s Critical Role co-star and real-life husband Travis Willingham voices Superman in the film. We spoke with Bailey about voicing an iconic character like Lois Lane, playing opposite her husband and Jonathan Kent’s rise in popularity. Check out our interview below…
Ricky Church: In Super Sons you star as Lois Lane, the lady herself. She is one of the most famous women in comics. How does it feel being able to step in her shoes?
Laura Bailey: Oh, gosh. I feel honoured if we’re being honest. Lois Lane is such an iconic figure in my life having grown up with the Superman movies. I feel like that’s the first time watching those films where you felt like there were really superheroes in the world. At least for me, that was my childhood. To bring myself into this universe, it’s mind boggling.
It’s also funny because you previously played Lois in the Injustice movie, which does not exactly have a happy ending for Superman and Lois. I bet it’s a relief to be on the opposite side of the spectrum this time!
Yeah, it was nice to get to play a happy version of her, for sure!
One of the other funny things is that in this movie Superman and Lois are married, but what’s cool is that your real-life husband, Travis Willingham, voices Superman! Obviously the two of you have worked together on Critical Role and Vox Machina, but what was it like for the both of you to be playing one of pop culture’s most famous super couples? How did you play off each other?
Well, there was much dancing and celebrating in the house! I think we just kind of got to play a version of ourselves just amplified, which was so wonderful. Some of our friends saw the clip that was revealed at New York Comic-Com before the sneak peak of the film was shown. They called afterwards and they’re like “So is it just you guys? Is it just your family?” (Laughs) It was so much fun. And Troy Baker played Batman in this and he also is one of our very best friends and so it’s just this funny meta-version happening.
Lois has been around for over 80 years. Like you said, you grew up watching her in the movies. She has a popular following all on her own. What makes her such an endearing and everlasting character?
I think she is timeless, you know? She is capable and powerful and intelligent. I think she is a woman that, me personally, I aspire to. She sets such an example and she kind of is the embodiment of “yeah, you can have everything.”
Cool. Now in your voiceover career, you’ve played three of comics’ most famous women. You’ve played Lois, you’ve played Mary Jane Watson in the Spider-Man game a few years ago, and you’ve also done Gwen Stacy in one of the recent Spider-Man cartoons. Do you have a favourite? How do you separate playing three of the most iconic women in comics?
(Laughs) I feel very lucky! It’s funny because each role feels so different to me that it’s not a ton of effort to separate them. In my mind, they are just so separated already. Before any role that I play I feel like it just kind of hangs out in my brain forever for all time and I’m slowly just hearing more and more voices in my head as I get older. But it’s nice to re-open that door, having played Lois before to get to re-experience her is so wonderful. Mary Jane, she lives in her own house as does Gwen Stacy.
That’s cool. In Super Sons, obviously Superman and Lois have a young son, Jonathan Kent. This is the first time Jon has been in a film. He was only introduced in the comics a few years ago and has quickly become very popular. Why do you think he’s such a beloved character and what does he bring to the Superman and Lois mythology?
Well, he’s just so wholesome. I think one of the things that’s so wonderful about him in this film is he’s kind of discovering this world. The audience gets to experience his powers through his eyes again. The powers, as you know, as he acquires them feel miraculous. Again, you forget having lived with these characters for our entire lives that Superman is Superman! He is miraculous! To get to see that again is so wonderful. I think he’s just so endearing, Jonathan. It’s fun to get to see the banter between him and Damian. I think that the contrast is what makes this movie so fun to watch.
Yeah, for sure. I love their dynamic. It’s great. The scenes that Superman and Jon and Lois and Jon have are really great and heartfelt too. Superman and Lois, they’ve saved the world more times than they can count, but Super Sons sees them in the new role as parents. How does that change your perspective on the characters or opened up your performance as Lois?
There is this feeling as a parent that I never knew before having been one myself of just constant, constant fear that something is going to happen to your child. What’s so wonderful in this film is that you get to experience that, you get to see that from the parents, from Lois and Clark, you can just see how much they just desperately want to protect Jon. At the same time, we get the unwavering support that’s for him. I love getting to see Lois just completely trust in Jon’s abilities. “You can do it, I know you’re going to take care of this.” It’s so wonderful to get to see.
Now as a voice actress, you’ve worked on several movies and shows with different animation styles. Super Sons is quite unique compared to the other DC films with its computer animation. What feeling do you get when you see the finished product of any of the projects you’re working on and so many varied styles from animators across the world?
Yeah, there’s always a hope. I mean, we as actors can be so separated from the rest of the process. You can love a script, the performances that you’re hearing, but there’s just no way to know what it’s going to turn out like. When you get a project like this where it was so much fun to record and then you see it, it’s so wonderful to watch. The animation is unique and expansive and the things that they were able to do because of the style that it’s in is so dramatic. They were able to show these sequences that I don’t think they would’ve been able to do otherwise. It was truly, I think it’s one of the most fun movies I’ve seen from DC. I’m very excited to see the fan reaction to it as well.
One last question that’s separate from Super Sons, but you played Abby in The Last of Us Part II which I thought was great. A lot of other people I know thought you were wonderful in it. What can you quickly say about that experience and if the live action series ever gets to that point and gives you a call, since some people are reprising their roles from the game, will you take it?
(Laughs) I don’t think there’s any way I could get a phone call to play Abby in the live action series, but I would feel like I was in a parallel universe if that happened! (Laughs) Yeah. I’m very excited. If I see that story progress on the HBO series, I would be thrilled to see what it looks like and obviously would love to be a part of it in any way that they would want. Abby was such a huge part of my life and I loved that role and the story and what they were telling people in the world. I would love any chance to get to go back and see her again.
Thank you very much to Laura Bailey for speaking with us!
Batman and Superman: Battle of the Super Sons will be released on 4K UHD and Blu-ray October 18th
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