Justice League began filming on April 11, 2016, and J.K. Simmons has reported that Zack Snyder has recently completed filming the Jim Gordon scenes.
You may remember Simmons from his role as J. Jonah Jameson, the loud and angry newspaper editor from the Spiderman Trilogy, or perhaps you can recall his unforgettable portrayal of Vern Schillinger, the leader of the Aryan Brotherhood from HBO’s uncompromisingly brutal prison drama, Oz. Maybe you’ve seen Whiplash, the film for which he won an Oscar for his portrayal of the abusive and aggressive band conductor, Fletcher. Well, now it’s time for Simmons to portray Jim Gordon, a hard-working police commissioner of strong moral fiber and character.
When Simmons spoke with Entertainment Tonight, he divulged that a) most of Gordon’s scenes will be with Batman and perhaps the Justice League, and b) working with Zack Snyder was a positive experience.
Yeah, mostly with Ben. In this first installment of the Justice League, Commissioner Gordon is not a particularly sizable part. We just kind of introduce him and see a little bit of his interactions with Batman — and with most of the Justice League. That was a really fun set. Zack [Snyder] runs sort of a big, happy family and it’s obviously, in many ways, a very different work environment when you’re working on a big, giant movie like that than a relatively small movie like The Meddler. But at the end of the day, the director is the one who sets the tone. And one of the things that Zack and Lorene have in common is they’re just nice, smart, competent, fun people that you don’t mind spending a 12-hour day with.
So, fans of Simmons will be pleased to see him on screen once again, but might be disappointed with the brevity of his screen time in the upcoming Justice League film. However, considering the fact that Simmons said, “we just kind of introduce him,” we can surmise that Simmons’ Gordon will be around for future Justice League and Batman films. Regardless, you may already know not to expect the infamous “Gym Gordon,” particularly because Simmons’ musculature is a product of personal choice and coincidence, and therefore, it will not directly affect his role as Gordon.
Anyway, Justice League will hit US theaters on November 17, 2017. Expect to see Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, the Flash, Aquaman, Cyborg, and a few more…