Neil Patrick Harris Voices Villain in Musical Episode of Batman Series

Neil Patrick Harris will soon show off his vocal talent on TV, but the Broadway veteran and Emmy-nominated star of How I Met Your Mother will not be seen singing: Harris is featured in an upcoming musical episode of the animated series Batman: The Brave and the Bold on the Cartoon Network, according to The Los Angeles Times. Featuring five songs that fill 18 of the episode’s 22 minutes, the episode features Harris as the voice of a villain named the Music Meister.

Harris was tapped after one of the series’ producers recalled his performance as Tobias in an L.A. mounting of Sweeney Todd. In the “Mayhem of the Music Meister!” episode, Batman and his fellow heroes find themselves powerless to resist the voice of the Music Meister, who is planning to control the world. The show’s composers were reportedly inspired by the work of Stephen Sondheim and Frank Loesser.

The Batman episode, which will air in the fall, will be screened on July 24 at this year’s Comic-Con convention in San Diego.

Thinking positively, composer Lolita Ritmanis told the Times that the Music Meister might survive to sing another day: “I have an idea that maybe he could return on Broadway.”