Recasting Every Major Role In The DCEU

4. Bryan Cranston As Commissioner James Gordon

What Happened?

J.K. Simmons was cast in the role of Commissioner James Gordon for Justice League, yet his part ultimately didn't amount to much more than a glorified cameo.

And while Simmons has stated that he's open to reprising the role, it seems more likely he'll end up another casualty of Matt Reeves opting to focus on a younger Batman for his solo film.

Though the James Bond franchise managed to retain Judi Dench as M despite recasting 007, it's fair to say that audiences don't yet have the affection for Simmons' Gordon for that to be a sensible possibility. After all, with the DCEU being as fragile as it is, why risk confusing audiences like this? A clean break is better.

The Recast

Much like Alfred, the part calls for a middle-aged actor with a real grit and gravitas, and one of the more commonly-cited names in "contention" among fans is Bryan Cranston.

Beyond proving his immense acting chops in Breaking Bad, Cranston actually voiced Gordon in the 2011 animated film Batman: Year One, so he's already got experience (of sorts) in the role.

Cranston has been asked about playing a live-action Gordon before and mentioned that he'd prefer to play comic book characters who haven't been played by others before, but it's easy to see how a visionary filmmaker like Reeves could change his mind.

It doesn't take much imagination to picture a mustachioed Cranston in a trenchcoat waiting by the bat signal, does it?