J.K. Simmons is switching teams for his next superhero gig. The Oscar-winning actor will jump to the DC Extended Universe to play Commissioner James Gordon in "Justice League."
Simmons will make his debut as the Gotham City police commissioner in "Justice League Part One," hitting theaters on Nov. 17, 2017. "Part Two" will premiere on June 14, 2019. He previously starred in Sam Raimi's "Spider-Man" trilogy as Marvel character J. Jonah Jameson, the publisher of the Daily Bugle.
Chris Terrio wrote the screenplay for both parts of "Justice League," which assembles Batman (Ben Affleck), Superman (Henry Cavill), Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot), Aquaman (Jason Momoa), The Flash (Ezra Miller) and Cyborg (Ray Fisher) to combat a threat beyond each member's capabilities.
Production on "Part One" will begin in April. The movie will film at Warner Bros. Leavesden studios in England and shoot at locations around London and in Iceland.
The DC Comics character Commissioner Gordon made his debut in "Dectective Comics" #27, the same issue that Batman first appeared in May 1939. He is Batman's longest-running ally. Although he doesn't always agree with the Caped Crusader's vigilante actions, he does believe they are needed to keep Gotham safe.
On screen, the character has been played by Lyle Talbot in the 1949 serial "Batman and Robin" and Neil Hamilton in the 1960s TV series "Batman." In the movies, Pat Hingle played Gordon in the "Batman" movie franchise from Tim Burton and Joel Schumacher and, most recently, Gary Oldman portrayed him in Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight" trilogy.
Ben McKenzie plays a younger version of the character in Fox's "Gotham," which chronicles his days as a detective for the Gotham City Police Department.
Simmons has transitioned from journeyman actor to one of Hollywood's hottest commodities since winning Best Supporting Actor for his role in 2014's "Whiplash." He reteams with the film's director, Damien Chazelle, for "La La Land," coming out in December and starring Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling.
He currently voices Mayor Lionheart in the new Disney Animation feature, "Zootopia." His other upcoming movies include "The Accountant," starring Affleck; "Patriot's Day," Mark Wahlberg's film about the Boston bombing; "Bastards," starring Owen Wilson and Ed Helms; and "The Snowman" with Michael Fassbender.
Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment will kick off the Justice League story with "Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice" on March 25.
