DC Comics are slowly beginning to catch up with their rivals over at Marvel on the big screen, with MAN OF STEEL grossing over $600 Million worldwide it secured the much-hyped sequel BATMAN VS SUPERMAN which is set to hit theatres May 2016. However on the small screen DC are well and truly dominating the competition with the incredibly successful ARROW as well as a multitude of other television adaptations on the horizon.
Warner Bros and DC Comics have not only announced the development an ARROW spin-off centering on THE FLASH but also a CONSTANTINE adaptation for NBC and a BATMAN prequel series on Fox titled GOTHAM. As of right now Warner Bros and Fox’s GOTHAM is the only DC television adaptation with a full series commitment, however viewers can likely expect THE FLASH and CONSTANTINE to debut this fall. GOTHAM will reportedly focus on a young James Gordon investigating the murder of Bruce Wayne’s parents’ before meeting Batman and becoming commissioner. The series will also excitingly showcase some of Batman’s most well known rogues such as The Penguin, Catwoman and The Joker before assuming their villainous alter-egos.
Now in a genius bit of casting, Warner Bros and Fox have announced that Benjamin McKenzie (THE OC, SOUTHLAND) has been cast in the lead role of James Gordon for GOTHAM. As a huge fan of THE OC and casual viewer of the underrated SOUHTLAND, this comes as incredibly exciting news and makes me even more eager to see the upcoming series. McKenzie can easily convey a likeability and innocence whilst also showing a determination and inner-anger essential to a young James Gordon, making him perfect for the role. Interestingly the OC star also voiced Bruce Wayne/Batman in the 2011 animated film BATMAN: YEAR ONE making his casting all the more appropriate. You can read McKenzie’s words on the casting from his official Twitter below:
All I can promise is I will do my best not to screw this up. Can’t wait to get to work.
— Ben McKenzie (@ben_mckenzie) February 8, 2014
The GOTHAM pilot will be directed by Danny Canon (JUDGE DREDD, NIKITA) and Bruno Heller (THE MENTALIST) will produce the series set to air on Fox this fall. Check back with The Hollywood News for more casting on GOTHAM as we get it.
Source: Coming Soon, Twitter
