SOUTHLAND Star Ben McKenzie To Play 'Detective Jim Gordon' In Fox's GOTHAM

Ben McKenzie is no stranger to the DC Universe; after all, he did voice the Caped Crusader in animated movie Batman: Year One! It has been confirmed tonight that his next foray into the world of comic book adaptations will be as the young Jim Gordon in Gotham...

By JoshWilding - Feb 08, 2014 02:02 PM EST

Filed Under: Batman

Fox are eyeing a Fall debut for Gotham, and following a few hard to believe rumours, we now have our first official addition to the cast. According to Deadline and various other outlets, Southland and former star of The O.C. Ben McKenzie will play Detective James Gordon in the series. Gotham already has a series commitment, and will feature a young Bruce Wayne as well as early iterations of villains like The Joker, Catwoman, The Riddler and The Penguin. According to the official logline, "Gordon is an idealistic rookie detective for Gotham City Open Police Department’s Homicide Squad, a former college football star and a war hero." The Mentalist creator Bruno Heller penned the pilot, while Danny Cannon will direct. What do you guys think of this news?

Welcome the awesome @ben_mckenzie to Gotham :)
— Geoff Johns (@geoffjohns) February 8, 2014

All I can promise is I will do my best not to screw this up. Can't wait to get to work.
— Ben McKenzie (@ben_mckenzie) February 8, 2014

@geoffjohns Geoff, thank you so much for trusting me with such an iconic character. Thrilling.
— Ben McKenzie (@ben_mckenzie) February 8, 2014

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134 Comments

1 2 3 4

McNyagano - 2/8/2014, 2:36 PM

Never heard of him.

Saga - 2/8/2014, 2:38 PM

Hey, I think he voiced Batman once

MrCBM56 - 2/8/2014, 2:38 PM

Really good choice. I like it.

TheGambitFreak - 2/8/2014, 2:38 PM

He's not Gordon material...

Reasonnnn - 2/8/2014, 2:38 PM

Good actor. That is all.

DEVLIN712 - 2/8/2014, 2:39 PM

Beat me to it by seconds! Sounds good, looking forward to seeing what Fox for with this, seems like they're taking it pretty seriously

GeneralZod1138 - 2/8/2014, 2:39 PM

Not my first choice, but ok I guess.

Moohika - 2/8/2014, 2:42 PM

He is a great choice for a Young Gordon! This guy can act, anyone ever seen SouthLand?

Ignition - 2/8/2014, 2:43 PM

Excellent choice!

Kurne - 2/8/2014, 2:45 PM

Holy crap, this guy and Michael Cudlitz were my favorite parts of Southland!

DeathstrokeTerminator - 2/8/2014, 2:46 PM

@Moohika
Yes, Southland was an awesome crime drama, very realistic. I think he will be great since he has experience with playing a cop. Great casting.

Kurne - 2/8/2014, 2:46 PM

He sorta reminded me of JGL in TDKR :P

ekrolo2 - 2/8/2014, 2:47 PM

Time to watch Southland.

smlaude - 2/8/2014, 2:48 PM

dude will always be the "dude that was in the girl show the OC".... hard to believe he is Jim Gordon now

blackagar94 - 2/8/2014, 2:49 PM

Not Gordon material ? What does that mean ? lol It's not the most complex role there is. He just needs do have dog eyes, a brooding face, and an overwhelmed guy attitude.This dude can do that. He is not the Joker or Two-face, he is just a cop.

Kurne - 2/8/2014, 2:49 PM

The Shield > Southland > Justified

Batman52 - 2/8/2014, 2:50 PM

FOX you have my attention.

BaneSmash - 2/8/2014, 2:51 PM

Good choice! Too bad Southland ain't comming back..............

rebellion - 2/8/2014, 2:52 PM

not interested. we're gonna have two different tv-dc universes. lame.

OwenWilsonsNose - 2/8/2014, 2:53 PM

I approve of this casting decision.

Oh, and lol at the "not Gordan material" quip. WTF IS Gordon material? You just have to be able to play a cop, and being that McKenzie has done that, im sure he can pull off a young Jim Gordon just fine.

Poolio - 2/8/2014, 2:53 PM

Not bad Fox. Not bad. I didn't care for him until I saw him Southland, he can definitely pull off a young Jim Gordon.

WruceBayne - 2/8/2014, 2:54 PM

I won't praise or dismiss this before I see at least the first few episodes.

NoPhucksGiven - 2/8/2014, 2:56 PM

about to order the entire gotham central series because of this show.

BoneSawIsReady - 2/8/2014, 2:57 PM

Southland was ok he tends to overact as a tough guy but this is in his range. I'm glad this isn't on the CW.

StSharp - 2/8/2014, 3:00 PM

Cool! He was great in Southland! He'll be a cop again hahah

DrainBamage - 2/8/2014, 3:00 PM

I honestly think it's time to wind it down. With all of the upcoming comic related TV shows on network TV and Netflix, and about four to five movies a year...it's beginning to be a bit much.

faver - 2/8/2014, 3:03 PM

The only thing I don't like about this show is the 'young Joker' part.

thebug022 - 2/8/2014, 3:03 PM

I can see it. I wanted to see Lee Pace in the role. But Ben should do ok.

Katie Sakhoff as Essen
Brendan Gleeson as Loeb
Pam's original fiance from The Office as Bullock

I'm really hoping that there isn't a big emphasis on the villains. Rather, I am hoping that they make it more of a crime drama, a la Law and Order. Just give us a Gotham Central TV series!

duncboy - 2/8/2014, 3:05 PM

I'm okay with this.

smlaude - 2/8/2014, 3:05 PM

to be clear, i wasnt saying he isnt gordon material, but everytime i see him, i think of the OC..... hard to get that imagine from my head...

Poolio - 2/8/2014, 3:06 PM

@smlaude
watch Southland

GuardianAngel - 2/8/2014, 3:06 PM

HE'LL NEVER BE AS GOOD AS PAT HINGLE

GuardianAngel - 2/8/2014, 3:07 PM

Isn't this guy a bit too young to play a war hero?

BoneSawIsReady - 2/8/2014, 3:08 PM

@thebug022

Agreed. Arrow is now about villains descending upon Oliver's city. This would be great as a crime and corruption drama. If Gotham is burning from within then the police and DA and the mayor etc are all susceptible to corruption.

Zordan - 2/8/2014, 3:09 PM

Nice

smlaude - 2/8/2014, 3:14 PM

@poolio tried... couldnt get into it... too many other reiterations of that style of show... seems like abc puts out a new one each fall... rookie blue, chicago pd, etc. some people like james vander beek will always be stapled in my eyes as dawson, no matter what he does.... i take blame for my tunnel vision

ChrispyG - 2/8/2014, 3:14 PM

Now they need to cast Bryan Cranston as Gordon in Batman vs Superman.

revloveR - 2/8/2014, 3:14 PM

an old as dirt batman and a young as baby shit gordon.

WB
"we've gone full blown construction dog folks"

1 2 3 4

SOUTHLAND Star Ben McKenzie To Play 'Detective Jim Gordon' In Fox's GOTHAM

Ben McKenzie is no stranger to the DC Universe; after all, he did voice the Caped Crusader in animated movie Batman: Year One! It has been confirmed tonight that his next foray into the world of comic book adaptations will be as the young Jim Gordon in Gotham...

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