Batman was an ensemble player in Justice League, but there were still a few opportunities to highlight the Caped Crusader's mythology in the movie. Along with bringing back Bruce Wayne's trusty butler/confidant, Alfred Pennyworth, Justice League also included Gotham City Police Commissioner James Gordon to the DC Extended Universe, played by J.K. Simmons. For those who are wondering whether we'll ever see Simmons' Gordon again, the actor said there are currently no plans for him to return, though he is open to reprising the character. In Simmons' words:
Nothing has changed. There are conversations going on, that I'm not going to make public. As far as I know, there's no opportunity, in the immediate future, for me to do more Commissioner Gordon, but I continue to be optimistic that it will happen again.
The future of the DCEU looks a lot different than it did when the initial slate of movies was announced in late 2014, especially given how Justice League commercially underperformed last year. While Matt Reeves' The Batman, the likeliest next place for Commissioner Gordon to pop up, remains in development, it still doesn't have a release date attached. J.K. Simmons is clearly privy to things being discussed in secret over at Warner Bros and DC, though he won't share those with the public. Still, while nothing is in the works currently for Simmons to don the mustache and trench coat again, as he told Collider, filling Gordon's shoes again hasn't been ruled out entirely.
In Justice League, Commissioner Gordon first interacted with Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash and Cyborg atop the GCPD rooftop (home of the world-famous Bat-Signal), where he passed along intel about people from or near S.T.A.R. Labs being abducted by alien perpetrators. He later returned after the League's first battle with Steppenwolf, commenting that they caused millions in damages, but he liked seeing Batman "playing well with others again." Gordon's screen time was minimal, but at least it had established that he and the Dark Knight still have a good rapport going.
Obviously it would be great for James Gordon to have a role in The Batman, but there's still a lot we don't know about that project, chiefly whether it will see Ben Affleck donning the cape and cowl again or if the rumors are true and a younger actor will play Batman instead. If it's the latter, then one would imagine that a younger actor would be needed to play Gordon as well, since in modern depictions of Baman's history, Gordon is a ways off from becoming commissioner.
While it might be too late to pull this off since it's beginning filming soon, I would recommend Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) (yes, that's really the title) include James Gordon. With the movie taking place in Gotham City and Batman reportedly MIA, it might be nice to have a familiar face around. Besides, if Harley Quinn, Huntress and Black Canary are causing a ruckus fighting Black Mask, you would imagine that the city's police commissioner would eventually hear about it and get the police force involved.
Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for all the latest and greatest updates concerning the DCEU. For now, you can look through our handy guide to find out what the superhero franchise has coming up.
