There are certain constants when it comes to adapting Batman, unless of course we’re talking about an especially bonkers, Elseworlds-like narrative. Usually though, things you can count on seeing include Batman battling the forces of evil without powers, being aided by his trusty butler Alfred Pennyworth and Bruce Wayne having seen his parents killed when he was a child. Regarding that latter element, most of the time it’s Joe Chill who’s responsible for Thomas and Martha Wayne’s death, and it’s been announced that a horror legend will play the mugger on The CW’s Gotham Knights.
Doug Bradley, who played Pinhead in the first eight Hellraiser movies, has come aboard Gotham Knights as Joe Chill. The upcoming DC TV show will check in with Bradley’s Chill 50 years after he shot Bruce Wayne’s parents, and he’s been on death row this entire time. He’s now scheduled to be executed, but before he dies, he intends to share certain secrets with the world. What these secrets are being kept... well, secret for now, but Gotham Knights executive producers Chad Fiveash, James Stoteraux and Natalie Abrams had this to say about casting Bradley as Joe Chill for Episode 6 (via TV Line):
When casting the iconic role of Joe Chill, arguably the man who created Batman, there was only one name we considered – Doug Bradley. We needed an actor with the kind of gravitas that would do justice to such a seminal character in DC Comics canon. And who better to embody the role of the classic Gotham fiend than the man whose legendary portrayal of another classic fiend – Pinhead in the Hellraiser franchise — continues to terrify generations of horror fans?
In addition to his time as Pinhead in so many Hellraiser movies, Doug Bradley also played Captain Elliot Spencer in 1988’s Hellhound: Hellraiser II and 1992’s Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth. Outside of that franchise, His other horror credits include Nightbreed, Pumpkinseed: Ashes to Ashes, The Cottage and Wrong Turn 5: Bloodlines. Star Wars fans might recognize him as the voice of the Sith Emperor in the online role-playing game Star Wars: The Old Republic. Bradley is the latest big horror name to lend their talents to a DC show on The CW, with others including Tony Todd and Tobin Bell as the voices of Zoom and Alchemy/Savitar, respectively, on The Flash.
Set in a different reality from Earth Prime, i.e. where shows like Arrow, The Flash and Supergirl are/were based following “Crisis on Infinite Earths,” Gotham Knights sees Turner Hayes, the adopted son of Bruce Wayne, investigating his father’s death with the help of fellow teens Carrie Kelley, Harper Row, Cullen Row, Duela Dent, Stephanie Brown and Brody March in an attempt to clear their name. Supernatural’s Misha Collins also stars as Harvey Dent, a.k.a. the future Two-Face, and also features the Court of Owls as antagonists following the group’s live-action debut in Gotham. Recurring players on the show include Damon Dayoub as Lincoln March, Lauren Stamile as Rebecca March, Ethan Embry as Arthur Brown (a.k.a. Cluemaster) and Sunny Mabrey as Crystal Brown.
Gotham Knights premieres Tuesday, March 14 at 9 pm ET on The CW, the same night that Superman & Lois Season 3 starts (there’s no word yet on if that show will come back for a fourth season). Look through the 2023 TV schedule to learn what other programming is coming up soon.
