Gotham TV Series: Five Ideas For Casting Jim Gordon

Jim Gordon, the commissioner of a police department so completely corrupt when he inherited it that he’s had attempts on his life by his own people, will be the lead character in Gotham, Fox’s Batman show without Batman that’s been ordered straight to series and expected to debut next fall. But who could play Jim Gordon? It’s a conversation that people have been having on a small scale for a while now, since the addition of Batman to the Man of Steel sequel suggests the possibility of Gordon, Alfred Pennyworth or other of Batman’s supporting players coming in as well, at least for a cameo.(And, yes, even glorified cameos got pretty great casting in Man of Steel–just ask Perry White.)The problem is that it’s a difficult question when this TV show is involved. Gordon, after all, is just a detective here and all signs point to a pretty by-the-numbers police procedural in many ways. That means he’ll likely be a younger guy who has romantic tension with his partner and/or another person on the force, rather than the middle-aged-or-older  cop we’ve come to know from the Batman ’66 TV series, the movies and of course the comic book source material.But he can’t be too too young–presumably, this series will have to allow for some recognizable faces to turn up on the set, even if Batman is off the table. And if you make Gordon too young and/or set the show too far back in the past, it makes things difficult. Can they reference Bruce Wayne being in the news if Barbara Gordon isn’t even born yet? Can the Flying Graysons pass through town in the circus if Bruce is so young his parents haven’t been killed yet? It’s a balancing act to make Gotham feel familiar without screwing up your whole timeline.And let’s just get this out of the way up front: there’s basically zero chance that this series will cross over with The Flash (The CW), Arrow (The CW) or Constantine (NBC)–or with the movies, which are wholly owned by Warner Bros. at this point. Warner and Fox have had enough rights problems over the years with Batman ’66. I’m certain they’re not looking to go create more.So we made up a list of potential Detective Gordons, and why we think they’d be great–if it turns out they’re age-appropriate for the gig.