There had been rumors for years now that the most popular Commissioner in comics, would not be making an appearance in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, due to his death before the events of the film. A recent report calls those rumors into question and adds another world class actor to the DC Extended Universe.
The Hollywood Reporter broke this news today:
The Justice League has found its Commissioner Gordon. Oscar winner J.K. Simmons has been cast as the Gotham City police commissioner.
The DC Comics character Commissioner James Gordon has been played by a slew of actors over the years, including Lyle Talbot in the 1949 series Batman and Robin, Neil Hamilton in the TV series Batman in the 1960s, Pat Hingle in the Tim Burton and Joel Schumacher Batman movie franchise and, most recently, by Gary Oldman in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight films. The character is an integral part of the Batman literary mythos and is the lead character in Gotham, Fox’s take on Gordon’s early days, where he is played by Ben McKenzie.
Academy Award winning actor J.K. Simmons (Whiplash) being cast as Commissioner James Gordon in the upcoming Justice League movie comes as a surprise to most. Simmons earned his Geek cred years ago, when he portrayed Daily Bugle editor J. Jonah Jameson in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy. His role was so memorable that fans have petitioned to bring back the actor in Marvel’s current cinematic universe. Warner Bros securing another talented actor for their upcoming slate, can only serve as another strong signal for the level of quality that the studio wants for their superhero films.
The casting is not significant for Simmons’ impact on the Justice League movie itself. The real victory in the casting is that WB certainly locked the actor up for a multiple picture deal. The rumblings of the next Batman solo film continue to grow louder and Commissioner Gordon will certainly have a huge role in whatever story is being told. There are significant pieces that are already in place for the movie with Ben Affleck as the star and probable director, Jeremy Irons as Alfred, along with presumably Jared Leto and Margot Robbie as the Joker and Harley. It seems that WB has sneakily rebooted the series with a cast almost matching the caliber of the Nolan era.
Additionally, this is a reminder that filming on Justice League begins next month. The principal stars are in place and we should continue to hear about additional supporting roles being filled in the coming weeks. Another huge mystery is who WB has cast as the villain of the film and who that character actually is. (Signs point to Darkseid, but that is likely the villain for part 2 of Justice League.) There certainly is much more to come on this film shortly.
Justice League: Part One opens in theaters on Nov. 17, 2017. Justice League: Part One opens on June 14, 2019.
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