In a recent interview, Academy Award-winning actor J.K. Simmons talked about his role as Gotham Police Commissioner James Gordon in the upcoming HBO MaxBatgirlmovie. Simmons will also be reprising another famous comic book role next month inSpider-Man: No Way Home.
When J.K. Simmons was cast asBatman’s trusted ally, James Gordon, forZack Snyder’sJustice League, many viewed him as the perfect choice for the role. Unfortunately, Simmons' role as Gordon was smaller than fans had expected and Warner Bros.' decision to eventually move away from Snyder’s plans left many wondering if Simmons' Gordon would ever return. Fortunately, the fan-favorite actor was called on to reprise the role for the upcomingBatgirlfilm.
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Speaking to Josh Horowitz on theHappy Sad Confused Podcast,Simmons said, “I was completely flabbergasted they came back to me recently and wanted me to be Commissioner Gordon again and have it be a more significant role. I’m looking forward to it. I think I’m going to get on the horn to [Leslie Grace] and the directors in the next couple of days and do little preliminary rehearsals. They start very soon and I jump on board sometime in January in Glasgow, which is a wonderful place to shoot it as it’s Gothic.” Even though Simmons admits he can’t give away any significant plot details, he did share his excitement for the portrayal of this famous DC comics character, calling it “a really interesting take on introducing Batgirl and fleshing Jim Gordon out.”
Simmons first portrayed Commissioner Gordon in 2017’sJustice Leagueand once again in the re-releasedSyder-Cut.His role is relatively small in both versions of the film, but when he was first cast fans were understandably excited. Simmons has become a bit of a comic book movie staple, having also portrayed grumpy newspaper publisher J. Jonah Jameson in theSam RaimiSpider-Manmovies. Simmons' portrayal of Jameson is widely considered to be the definitive live-action version of the character, and it’s hard to imagine anyone else stepping into the role. He’s even reprised the role as an updated version of the character in 2019’sSpider-Man: Far From Home.
At the age of 66, Simmons is a perfect fit to play a more mature and experienced version of Commissioner Gordon. The character has appeared across other live-actionBatmanfilms, most notably inChristopher Nolan’sDark Knight Trilogywhere he was portrayed by actor Gary Oldman. However, the Nolan Batman films show a younger, less experienced Gordon, who doesn’t become commissioner until the second movie. Actor Jeffrey Wright is also set to star as the Gotham Police Commissioner in director Matt Reeves’s upcoming rebootThe Batman.
Although the character of Commissioner Gordon is often associated withBatman,it does make sense that he would play a larger role in theBatgirlfilm. In the comics,Batgirlis the superhero alter-ego of Barbara Gordon, the daughter of Commissioner Gordon. Although little is known about the plot of the upcomingBatgirlfilm, it has been confirmed thatactress Leslie Gracewill be playing Barbara Gordon/ Batgirl. Hopefully, Simmons will get more time to shine in the upcoming DC film, but fans will have to wait and see.
Batgirlpremieres on HBO Max sometime in 2022.
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