Production will begin on the pilot for Fox’s Batman prequel series Gotham very soon, and as a result casting is heating up.  The network announced last weekend that The O.C. and Southland star Ben McKenzie will lead the series as James Gordon, future Gotham police commissioner, and now the show has filled out a number of other familiar roles.  Robin Lord Taylor (Another Earth, The Walking Dead) will play the villainous Oswald Cobblepot aka The Penguin, Sean Pertwee (Camelot) is set as Bruce Wayne’s trusted butler Alfred Pennyworth, Zabryna Guevara (Burn Notice) will portray Gordon’s boss Captain Essen, and Erin Richards (Being Human) is set as Gordon’s fiancée Barbara Kean.  Alas, no mention of Donal Logue.

Bruno Heller (The Mentalist) wrote the Gotham pilot and will act as executive producer/showrunner on the series, and Danny Cannon (CSI, Nikita) will direct the first episode.  Hit the jump for official descriptions of Gotham’s iteration of these classic DC Comics characters.

As previously reported, Gotham will main focus on Jim Gordon but it will also involve a young Bruce Wayne, likely as a supporting character.  Moreover, Fox hopes to bring in a number of classic Batman villains like the Riddler and Catwoman, so The Penguin is only the tip of the iceberg.  All of the aforementioned roles are for series regulars, thought, so don’t expect The Penguin to make a one-and-done appearance.  Read the official character descriptions for the Gotham incarnations of the characters below:

• The Penguin - With the brains of a chess grandmaster and the morals of a jackal, Oswald Cobblepot is a low-level psychopath (for gangster Fish Mooney) who hides his sadistic lust for power behind an exquisitely polite demeanor.
• Alfred Pennyworth - A tough-as-nails ex-marine from East London, Alfred Pennyworth has loyally served the Waynes. Now, in the wake of their tragic deaths, he’s fiercely protective of the young Bruce Wayne.
• Captain Essen - Gordon’s boss at the GCPD Homicide Squad, Captain Essen balances the two worlds of police and politics with a Machiavellian skill that’s as much corporate litigator as cop.
• Barbara Kean - A sophisticated emergency room doctor, Barbara is the fiancée of James Gordon, joyful but with an edge of vulnerability. She stands by her future husband…which can be difficult in a world as corrupt as Gotham.