The DC Comics/Batman prequel series Gotham has found its Gordon, and one imagines the news has Seth Cohen shrieking with delight.  It was announced today that Southland and The O.C. star Ben McKenzie will play Jim Gordon in the pilot, which revolves around the Gotham’s future commissioner and takes place within the Batman universe.  The Fox show—which has a series commitment from the network—comes from executive producer/showrunner Bruno Heller (The Mentalist) and Danny Cannon (CSI, Nikita) is onboard to direct the pilot.

As previously reported, Fox hopes to use Gotham as a vehicle for exploring famous Batman villains like the Riddler, Catwoman, and the Penguin.  It comes on the heels of The CW’s recent success with an Arrow TV show, and that network also has a potential The Flash series in the works.  More after the jump.

McKenzie starred on the NBC/TNT drama Southland four five seasons, but he first shined as Kid Chino Ryan Atwood on Fox’s The O.C. from 2003 to 2007.  He showed considerable promise on the latter series and made the successful jump to adult fare on Southland, so he’ll likely fare quite well as Jim Gordon on Fox’s new series.  The network no doubt hopes to expand its DC TV Universe further if Gotham catches on with audiences, so a lot is riding on the success of this new series.

Further details are few and far between at this time, but there have been rumors that a young Bruce Wayne will be a supporting character and Sons of Anarchy actor Donal Logue has reportedly been offered the role of Detective Harvey Bullock, a mentor to the young Gordon.

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