Batgirl: J.K. Simmons Teases Family Dynamic Between Commissioner Gordon and Barbara

The DC universe is continuing to evolve in some unexpected and wonderful ways, with established and new actors and characters crossing paths in recent projects. That includes the upcoming Batgirl movie, which will have Leslie Grace’s Barbara Gordon / Batgirl sharing the screen with J.K. Simmons’ Commissioner Gordon and Michael Keaton’s Bruce Wayne / Batman. After previously portraying the character in both cuts of Justice League, Simmons will be returning as the father of Grace’s protagonist — and now we have a bit of an inkling of what that will entail. In a recent interview with Deadline, Simmons teased what Gordon’s dynamic with his daughter will be like, including some of the nicknames she will be called.

‘Commissioner Gordon, formerly Detective Gordon, is the father of Barbara Gordon; well, also the husband of Barbara Gordon, gets a little confusing,” Simmons revealed. “We call the younger one ‘Babs’ or ‘Bugs’, and she becomes Batgirl. I hope that wasn’t a spoiler, my seat didn’t get electrified so I guess I’m allowed to say that.”

Simmons’ return was officially confirmed last year, with the actor expressing excitement at returning back to the DC fold.

“I was as surprised as I was when [Marvel] came back to ask me to do [Jameson] that they were coming to me to play Batgirl’s father, Commissioner Gordon again, in this new version of the universe,” Simmons shared of returning to the role in an interview late last year. “We’ve already had lots of discussions about the script and how to play everything.” 

“I’m excited by the cast and the directors and … looking forward to diving back into the DC multiverse,” Simmons added.

Batgirl is directed by Bad Boys for Life‘s Bilall Fallah and Adil El Arbi, with a script written by Christina Hodson, whose work includes Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) and the upcoming The Flash movie. The film is expected to also see Brendan Fraser joining the cast as Firefly, Ivory Aquino as Alysia Yeoh, and Jacob Scipio, Rebecca Front, Corey Johnson, and Ethan Kai cast in currently-unknown roles.

“She’s someone who’s been underestimated by even her own dad and being the youngest kid, sometimes you’re insulated from all of the tough stuff of life and she’s so eager to prove to herself and to everybody else that there’s some things that she can handle,” Grace said of Barbara in an interview last year.. “So, this journey is definitely going to show me a lot of that. I feel like I’m on an endless journey of proving to myself what barriers I can break, what limits I can break for myself and I’m excited to put a little bit of that eagerness and drive and, like, almost a bit of stubbornness into Barbara’s character.”

What do you think of the first look at J.K. Simmons on the set of Batgirl? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

Batgirl is set to be released at a later date exclusively on HBO Max.