We may be seeing more of J.K. Simmons as Commissioner James Gordon soon enough, as the Oscar-winning actor is currently in talks to reprise the role in Batgirl. Currently in development at Warner Bros. as an HBO Max exclusive, the Batgirl movie stars Leslie Grace (In the Heights) as Barbara Gordon, the commissioner's daughter who fights crime on the streets of Gotham City at night under the Batgirl alias. It's set for a 2022 release with pre-production underway.

Christina Hodson, who penned Birds of Prey along with the upcoming movie The Flash, wrote the screenplay for Batgirl. Bad Boys for Life helmers Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah are directing with Kristin Burr producing. Not much has been revealed about the plot of Batgirl, but with Simmons in talks to return, the movie seems to be a part of the DCEU. It will be the first appearance of Barbara Gordon and Batgirl in this particular cinematic universe.

J.K. Simmons previously played Commissioner Gordon in 2017's Justice League and appeared in new material in this year's extended cut Zack Snyder's Justice League on HBO Max. He also told Entertainment Tonight in 2019 that he had signed on to play the role for three movies and was hoping to get the chance to return in future projects. It would appear that he will get his wish with Batgirl providing the perfect opportunity for him to be featured in more of a major role as the main character's father.

"I know that I signed up to do three movies, potentially, and I hope there are going to be two more," Simmons stated. "Wherever Commissioner Gordon might end up appearing again, I'm open to it... I hope there's more of that in the future. If the bat phone rings, yeah, [I'm ready to go.]"

Meanwhile, Simmons is very well known for his role in Marvel movies as J. Jonah Jameson, Peter Parker's boss at the Daily Bugle. He is set to reprise his role in the upcoming sequel Spider-Man: No Way Home. Simmons, who won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role in Whiplash, is also set to appear as I Love Lucy actor William Frawley in the upcoming biopic Being the Ricardos. We last saw him in Amazon's The Tomorrow War as Chris Pratt's estranged father.

Various actors have played live-action incarnations of Commissioner James Gordon in DC projects over the years. On the big screen, he was previously played by Pat Hingle in Tim Burton and Joel Schumacher's Batman movies. Gary Oldman took over the role for Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy and Jeffrey Wright will debut as Gordon in the upcoming movie The Batman. Ben McKenzie starred in the central role as a younger James Gordon in the Batman prequel series Gotham for five seasons on Fox.

There's no word yet on when Batgirl will start production, but the project is reportedly slated for a 2022 release on HBO Max. Until then, fans can look forward to catching Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson when Spider-Man: No Way Home is released on Dec. 17, 2021. This news comes to us from The Hollywood Reporter.