Academy Award winner J.K. Simmons holds the unique distinction of playing the two most famous mustachioed comic book supporting characters in history at the same time, but it hasn’t exactly been straightforward from a canon or continuity perspective.
The actor was one of the highlights of Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy, and was brought back into the Marvel Cinematic Universe for a cameo at the end of Far From Home. He was then given more screentime in No Way Home, which never acknowledged the fact the same star was playing the same person in two separate realities, despite the entire plot revolving around the multiverse.
Similarly, Simmons signed a multi-picture deal to recur as the DCEU’s Commissioner Gordon, which amounted to a single scene in the theatrical cut of Justice League. He was given a bigger role in the Snyder Cut, though, but it looked as though his days as the head of Gotham City’s police force were over before they’d really begun.
However, he’s back for HBO Max’s Batgirl as the title hero’s father, and has been spotted filming scenes opposite Michael Keaton’s Caped Crusader, despite his only interactions coming opposite Ben Affleck. It’s all fairly confusing, but at least Simmons admitted in an interview with Discussing Film that he doesn’t really understand it, either.
“Well, that was quite a surprise. And I’m still not sure I understand all the various multiverse aspects of, you know, DC or Marvel. Yeah, well good. I’m glad to hear somebody in the media admit that! But yeah, I was completely surprised and very happy obviously. I had a lengthy phone call sort of having the story laid out for me before I even saw a script, and it was actually way back in the middle of the summer I think that they first came to me and approached me about doing it. I just finished my part, they have several more weeks of shooting to do.
It’s much more than I got to do in my brief stint as Commissioner Gordon in Zack Snyder’s film. And really, it was fun because it was a completely different side of Commissioner Gordon. All that we saw in the little snippets of Zack Snyder’s Justice League, in either the original or in Zack’s brilliant, expanded cut, it was just Commissioner Gordon being business-like and needing Batman’s help. In this film, I think I’m allowed to say since it does center on Batgirl, we see much more of Commissioner Gordon at home.”
More J.K. Simmons is never a bad thing, but with Batgirl still scheduled to release before The Flash after the latter was delayed by six months, some clarity on the timeline of the DCEU’s multiverse would come in handy.