Was Mahershala Ali approached to take on Commissioner Gordon role in The Batman?

Earlier this week, Robert Pattinson finally broke his silence on being cast as the new Batman and having gotten the chance to try on the suit. Since then, rumours have been going around that Matt Reeves has approached actor Mahershala Ali to play a key role in the film.

In Collider's recent podcast, The Sneider Cut, journalist Jeff Sneider revealed the news talking to 'A Quiet Place' writer Scott Beck and Bryan Woods. According to sources, Reeves' was apparently in talks with Ali to take on the role of Commissioner Jim Gordon. He also added that he was the director's first choice.

It must be noted that Sneider asked readers to take this news with a pinch of salt. Or as he suggested, it is possible that Ali may have considered the opportunity but that could be prior to the actor signing on to play Blade for Marvel Studios' MCU film. 

Commissioner Jim Gordon was earlier played by JK Simmons in the Justice League. But since the studios' decision to reboot Ben Affleck's version of the Batman, earlier plans have been scrapped with Reeves' casting a new range of characters for the standalone film.  

It would have been interesting to see the Academy Award-winning actor portray Jim Gordon. Furthermore, it certainly would have generated a lot of buzz among fans since the role would have been played by a person of colour (POC).

More casting announcements for 'The Batman' are to be expected since the script is complete.

The Batman is scheduled to release on June 25, 2021.