2017's Justice League: Part One will see the debut of J.K. Simmons as legendary comic character, Commissioner James Gordon, and we couldn't be more excited. Someone else who seems eager to comment on the next phase in the character's evolution is none other than the previous Commissioner himself, Gary Oldman. Most importantly, Oldman has some choice advice for his successor to live by when it comes to bringing the character to life: play the Commissioner like a Boy Scout.
During an interview with Yahoo Movies, the world renowned actor who served as Gotham City's top cop for all three entries in Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy delivered his laundry list for what he thinks makes Commissioner Gordon the character that he is. Gary Oldman's qualifications for the character are, as follows:
The thing you’ve just got to get used to with [Commissioner] Gordon is he’s a really sound detective, first of all. And he’s really incorruptible, which is a kind of wonderful quality to play and sort of, like, true blue.
Automatically discounting the philandering behavior that Commissioner Gordon showed during the events of Frank Miller's Batman: Year One, Gary Oldman's assessment of the DC Comics character is pretty accurate. James Gordon has always served as a counter-balance to Batman's darker tendencies, acting as his greatest ally, second only to Alfred himself. Whatever help or guidance Bruce Wayne / Batman may need in Justice League: Part One, it'll more than likely come from his loyal family friend, as well as his main connection to Gotham City law enforcement.
J.K. Simmons is going to face the same upward climb that Gary Oldman faced when he was cast as Detective Jim Gordon in 2005's Batman Begins. As with any pre-established role in movie history, a new interpretation is both a clean slate for an actor to bring their own take on the material, while honoring the work of the actors that have come before them. While no one's certainly expecting a carbon copy of Oldman's performance, the guidelines that The Dark Knight actor laid out are a good blueprint for Simmons to follow with his Commissioner Gordon. Other than those basic criteria, everyone's favorite band instructor is free to bring his own brand of justice to the streets of Gotham.
If anyone knows the firestorm J.K. Simmons is about to walk into, it's surely Gary Oldman, and he's even said as much. When asked for his first reaction to the news that Simmons was cast in Justice League: Part One, all Oldman had to say was, "God bless him." Divine intervention or not, we'll get to see what Simmons brings to the table when Justice League: Part One makes its debut on November 17, 2017. Unless, of course, there's some sort of secret Suicide Squad cameo that we don't know about – but that's just pure wishful thinking on our part.
