J.K. Simmons portrayed Gotham’s Police Commissioner Jim Gordon in Zack Snyder’s Justice League in 2017. The Academy Award winning actor was a great pickup for the role and did an excellent job in the limited scenes he was in. Of course, the assumption was that we would see Gordon again in more films featuring Gotham City. Whether it was (then) Ben Affleck’s The Batman, (then) Joss Whedon’s Batgirl or even Birds of Prey.
Then, Whedon walked away from Batgirl, Matt Reeves took over The Batman, and Affleck walked away from the role of the Dark Knight, and DC Films in general seem to be heading in a different direction than the Snyder vision that was still in play when Simmons was cast.
In a recent interview with ET, Simmons confirmed that he signed on for 3 movies, but has yet to hear anything in regards to his future as Gordon.
I know nothing, I know that I signed up to do three movies and I hope there are going to be two more. It has been in and around and through, whether it be Batman or Justice League or another Suicide Squad, or where Commissioner Gordon might end up appearing again, I’m open to it. I’m not sitting at home waiting for the phone to ring in the meantime, but I hope there’s more of that in the future.
Although there is currently no shortlist for actors to portray Bruce Wayne in Matt Reeves’ film, rumor has been that he is looking to showcase a younger iteration of the Dark Knight. Affleck, who is 46, played an older and more world-weary Batman. It is assumed that a younger actor would mean a younger Batman, which would also mean a younger Gordon. So, sadly, we probably won’t be seeing J.K. Simmons in The Batman.
Simmons is a great actor and, from the few scenes we saw, fit in very well in the role of Gordon. While we don’t blame him for not waiting by the phone, it’s good to hear he’s still open to coming back if the call ever comes. Hopefully we will see him don the mustache and glasses again in the future.