JK Simmons Still Hopes to Play Commissioner Gordon in The Batman

CBR

By Tom Chapman

Published Feb 19, 2018

After playing only a small role Justice League, J.K. Simmons hopes director Matt Reeves will have more room for Gordon in The Batman.

As Warner Bros. moves ahead with plans for a new Batman solo movie, Oscar winner J.K. Simmons doesn't seem to know whether he'll reprise his Justice League role as Commissioner Gordon for director Matt Reeves' feature.

Talking with Collider, the 63-year-old actor revealed he has yet to meet with the filmmaker, who succeeded Ben Affleck behind the camera of The Batman.

“Assuming that we’re gonna go forward, the way we think it will, I’m really looking forward to that," he said. "Hopefully, it will be really fun and the character will expand a little bit, particularly in the stand-alone Batman movie. There will be more to do. I guess it’s Matt Reeves now for that one, who I haven’t met. So, it will be a whole new collaborator to get together and work with, hopefully.”

That being said, Simmons remains positive that he will appear in The Batman. More than that, he also hopes the director will have an expanded role for him.With Reeves planning a three-picture arc, it's a safe to assume Gordon will have at least some part to play in the story.

However, with the state of The Batman up in the air amid persistent rumors that Ben Affleck is preparing to leave the DC Extended Universe, we still have no idea how Reeves' movie will tie in to the already-established story of the Dark Knight.

After Affleck stepped down as director of The Batman more than a year ago, it was left to Reeves to make his own plans for where to take the character. However, considering the film has no confirmed start or release date, Simmons shouldn't be too concerned that he hasn't received a call yet.

With Joss Whedon taking over from Zack Snyder on Justice League, Simmons admitted his already-small role was cut further. The movie introduced several characters, like Amber Heard's Mera, to potentially set the stage for future movies; a figure as important as Commissioner Gordon was always going to have potential to star in another feature. Even after the mixed response of Justice League, Batman is still guaranteed to be a major part of the studio's plans. It just wouldn't be Batman without Jim lighting up the Bat Signal and calling the shots at the Gotham City Police Department.