Bryan Cranston knows all about playing iconic characters. After all, his portrayal of the science teacher-turned-drug lord Walter White in “Breaking Bad” remains one of the best performances in television history. Cranston even left his mark in the DC Universe, playing none other than Jim Gordon, Batman’s ally and one of the few good cops in the Gotham City Police Department.
The actor voiced Gordon in the 2011 animated film “Batman: Year One.” Based on the comic book arc of the same name by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli, the story centers around Bruce Wayne (Ben McKenzie) becoming the Dark Knight following his return to Gotham. Among discovering that his city is a cesspool of crime and violence, he suits up as a giant bat and pummels away at evildoers. At the same time, Gordon, having recently relocated to Gotham, discovers a rotten-to-the-core police department rife with corruption. With a common interest in making Gotham a better place to live, the seeds of Batman and Gordon’s alliance are sown.
The film is widely considered by critics and audiences as one of the best Batman animated movies. On Rotten Tomatoes, “Batman: Year One” holds an 89% critical approval rating and 79% audience score. As an additional fun fact, McKenzie, who plays Batman in this movie, would go on to portray a young Jim Gordon in the “Gotham” TV show a few years later.
Bryan Cranston is a top fan pick to play a live-action Jim Gordon
Despite having already played Jim Gordon, there are still calls from fans for Bryan Cranston to reprise the role in a live-action film. A few years ago, an artist interpreted Bryan Cranston as Commissioner Gordon in concept art for the DCU’s Batman movie. Unquestionably, the artwork makes Cranston’s Gordon look like he was pulled straight out of the comics, which is never a bad thing in a time where such accuracy is embraced rather than shunned.
Don’t get excited about this possibility coming to fruition, though. Speaking to Josh Horowitz from “Happy Sad Confused,” Cranston referred to playing Gordon in “Batman: Year One” as “fun,” but mentioned how he had never been approached to play Gordon, or Lex Luthor (another DC character he’s often linked to), in a live-action DC movie. Furthermore, Cranston agreed with Horowitz that calls for him to play Luthor or Gordon fall in the category of “lazy casting,” because people saw his appearance as Walter White and instantly associated him with the other characters.
So, all those who had Cranston on their bingo card to be the Jim Gordon to “Reacher” star Alan Ritchson’s potential Batman, you may want to temper those expectations. One can dream, though, right?