‘Pennyworth’: Young Alfred Has Been Cast for New Batman Prequel Series

The Alfred Pennyworth origin series has officially cast its leading man, resulting in the youngest version of the character we’ve yet to see on screen.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Jack Bannon (The Imitation Game) has been cast as the titular character in Pennyworth, the new Epix series from Gotham showrunner Bruno Heller.

While this series will not be a Gotham prequel (despite Heller’s involvement), it will revolve around a version of Alfred that is in his 20s, and has already served as a Brisith SAS soldier. After is time in the military, Alfred will form a security company which leads him to work with a young billionaire named Thomas Wayne in 1960s London. At this point in the tale, Thomas is not yet a father to Bruce Wayne, the boy will grow to become Batman.

The report describes this young Alfred as “a boyishly handsome, cheerful, charming, clever young man from London. Honest, open-faced and witty, people would never take him for an SAS killer. Alfred doesn’t know how to reconcile the kind-hearted boy he used to be with the cold, calculated killer he was forced to become. He’s a man on the make, who doesn’t know what to make of himself yet.”

Based on DC characters created by Bob Kane and Bill Fingr, Pennyworth will be the first DC TV series on Epix, and has already received a 10 episode order. Along with Heller, Gotham‘s Danny Cannon will join the series as an executive producer and is set to direct the pilot.

Production on the new series will begin on October 22nd at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden in the U.K.

Bannon will join an ever-growing list of actors to portray Alfred Pennyworth on screen. Sean Pertwee is the most recent to do so, playing the character on Gotham. Jeremy Irons is the current iteration of Alfred on the big screen, a role that was previously held by Michael Caine and Michael Gough.

What do you think of the new Alfred Pennyworth? Let us know in the comments!