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When J.K. Simmons first signed on to join the DCEU as Commissioner Gordon, the veteran character actor initially inked a three-picture contract, which ultimately amounted to mere seconds of screentime in the theatrical edition of Justice League and a lengthier, but still relatively short, appearance in the Snyder Cut.
Presumably, the remaining two options on his deal would have included a Justice League sequel and Ben Affleck’s The Batman, so the Academy Award winner’s contractual status was up in the air after both of those projects were abandoned. However, it was recently revealed that Simmons had entered talks with Warner Bros. to return as the father of Leslie Grace’s title hero in HBO Max’s Batgirl.
In a new interview with Entertainment Tonight, Grace appeared to confirm that 66 year-old hadn’t officially signed on the dotted line just yet, but she was nonetheless excited at the prospect of working with such an esteemed talent.
“I’m ready to learn a lot from J.K. Simmons. If you’re listening, huge respect, and please play my dad! I hope you’re my dad.”
Simmons was an inspired choice for Commissioner Gordon, with few stars in the business better at delivering wizened gravitas and grizzled badassery in equal measure, so it’d be a huge coup for Batgirl were he to commit. He deserved much better than he ultimately got the first time out, and no comic book blockbuster is complete without at least a couple of acclaimed supporting players providing backup.
Batgirl is expected to start shooting before the end of the year now that a director, writer and lead are all in place, meaning that it might not be too long until we find out for sure whether or not Simmons will be back.