Seven years after the end of “The O.C.,” Ben McKenzie is coming back to Fox.
According to Variety, McKenzie will headline the upcoming Batman prequel series “Gotham” as Detective James Gordon, a much younger version of the Commissioner Gordon character most recently played by Gary Oldman in Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy.
“Gotham” will revolve around Gordon and some of the more colorful Batman villains years before Batman’s arrival changes everything. Bruce Wayne will also be featured in “Gotham” as a child dealing with the aftermath of his parents’ murder.
In addition to his four seasons on “The O.C,” McKenzie is also well known for portraying Ben Sherman during the five season run of “Southland.” McKenzie has also appeared in Junebug, 88 Minutes and Johnny Got His Gun. McKenzie previously played Batman and Bruce Wayne in the animated adaptation of Batman: Year One.
Bruno Heller (“The Mentalist”) wrote the “Gotham” pilot script, which has Danny Cannon slated to direct. Fox ordered “Gotham” straight-to-series last fall, which means that it will likely launch as part of the Fall 2014 TV season.
