Batgirl: J.K. Simmons in talks to play Commissioner Gordon

The Batgirl cast is coming together. Earlier in July, it was announced that Leslie Grace had been picked to play Barbara Gordon in the upcoming Batgirl, which is expected to be released on HBO Max. Now, we have news of another major DC character having found its actor for Barbara’s solo adventure.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, J.K. Simmons is in talks to reprise the role of Commissioner Jim Gordon in Batgirl. Simmons previously played Gordon in 2017’s Justice League and Zack Snyder’s Justice League.

No further information was revealed about the actor’s role in the film. Of course, it’s important to clarify that Simmons’ casting is not yet set in stone. As THR reported, the actor is in negotiations to appear in the movie, and, as we’ve seen in the past, negotiations can fall through. Having said that, the fact that he is in talks makes it quite likely that he will end up signing the dotted line to return to the DC universe.

Before we jump into the speculation us geeks love to partake in, can we acknowledge how impressive Simmons’ comic book movie career is at this point? He played J. Jonah Jameson in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy, reprised the role in Spider-Man: Far From Home; he lent his voice to Omni-Man on Amazon’s Invincible, and he also happens to play one of Batman’s most beloved and recognizable allies in the DC film universe.

What does J.K. Simmons’ return in Batgirl mean for the DCEU?

Speaking of Simmons being part of the DCEU, his return to the role of Jim Gordon poses an interesting question for DC’s film franchise: is Batgirl set in the current DCEU? Over the years, DC and Warner Bros. have taken a relatively loose approach to the continuity of their superhero universe. As evidenced by Joker, The Suicide Squad and Matt Reeves’s upcoming The Batman, the DC film series tends not to adhere to a cohesive timeline (or universe, for that matter).

With that and Zack Snyder’s DC era coming to an end with his director’s cut of Justice League, many of us wondered what DC’s film continuity would look like moving forward, and whether Batgirl would be part of any previously established continuity, or be its own thing. So, does J.K. Simmons being cast in Batgirl indicate that Warner Bros. will make the movie adhere to the continuity introduced in Man of Steel? Maybe, but not necessarily.

There’s an important factor to keep in mind: The Flash. Barry Allen’s upcoming adventure is expected to tap into the multiverse, and as such, has long been rumored to introduce a new DC movie universe. You may be wondering why that is important. Well, when Michael Keaton was revealed to be in talks to reprise his role as Bruce Wayne in The Flash, The Hollywood Reporter revealed Keaton’s crimefighter was possibly being set up as an overarching presence in the DC movie universe moving forward.

According to the trade, Batgirl was one of the projects that Michael Keaton was discussed as possibly being a part of. If Keaton is still being considered to appear in Batgirl, it’s possible that Barbara Gordon’s film is part of whatever universe will (supposedly) be created in The Flash.

If that is indeed the case (and I must stress, this is pure speculation), it could be possible that Warner Bros. and DC are keeping whatever they felt worked best in the previous iteration of their DC universe (in this case, Simmons’ Gordon) and bringing it over to whatever the franchise will look like after The Flash (again, if the film indeed changes the series in the way we’ve all been speculating).

Batgirl doesn’t currently have a release date, but it’s expected to arrive on HBO Max at some point in 2022.

What do you think about J.K. Simmons returning as Commissioner Gordon in Batgirl? What do you think that means for the overall DC film universe? Let us know in the comments below!