‘Gotham’ Casts New Batman Villain

Gotham is headed into its fifth and final season when the show returns in 2019, but the Batman prequel series still has a lot to pack into those final episodes — including what might just be one of Batman’s biggest enemies.

According to Deadline, Nikita alum Shane West has been cast to play Eduardo Dorrance, a recurring villain for the Fox drama’s final season.

The character is described as an old Army buddy of Jim Gordon (Ben McKenzie) who returns to Gotham years after having lost touch with Jim after the war. He will come leading a team of elite soldiers intent on helping Gordon restore order to No Man’s Land, but eventually “He realizes Dorrance’s true intentions in Gotham are much darker and more evil than he could have believed.”

The reveal that Dorrance would be coming to Gotham isn’t a complete surprise. Last month, That Hashtag Show shared a character breakdown that indicated the series was looking to cast for the role. While neither the casting announcement nor the previous character breakdown provided much information about the character, for DC fans, the name “Eduardo Dorrance” may ring a few bells.

In comics, Edmund Dorrance is King Snake, a man with a history in the British Army as well as work as a mercenary and who just so happens to also be the father of the villain, Bane.
With the way Gotham‘s timeline works, it wouldn’t be a huge surprise to see Bane’s father appear on the show though it’s possible that the character might ultimately end up being not Bane’s father but Bane himself.

During a panel at Fan Expo Canada this weekend, Gotham‘s Robin Lord Taylor, who has played Oswald Cobblepot since the series premiere, was asked whether or not his character would get the chance to interact with Bane in Season 5, given that a few episode titles revealed the villain’s inclusion. Not only did the actor confirm that Bane was indeed arriving this season, but he also revealed that Magpie would be introduced.

“All I can say is I hope so,” Taylor said. “Because every time we have a new villain, especially one like Bane, who is coming in, and we’re also introducing Magpie this year, which is really exciting. But again, anytime he interacts with these characters it changes him and makes his character more interesting, and it gives him something to overcome. That’s part of getting deeper into the character, how he’s affected by these other incredible characters that are in the Batman universe.”

Gotham‘s fifth and final season is set to premiere on FOX in early 2019.