Jada Pinkett Smith is the latest star to join Gotham, Fox’s Batman prequel series that will focus on Jim Gordon’s career before the Caped Crusader steps in to save the city.
Smith has been cast as Fish Mooney, a gangster and nightclub owner, notes TheWrap. The role will give Smith the chance to play a sadistic villain who understands people’s motivations the moment she meets them. She’s also the boss of Oswald Cobblepot, best known as The Penguin.
It appears that The Penguin is being set up as the first classic Batman villain viewers will meet in the series. The character will be played by Robin Lord Taylor, who joined the project earlier this month.
Gordon, who later becomes Gotham City’s police commissioner, will be played by Southland star Ben McKenzie. His partner, Harvey Bullock, will be played by Sons of Anarchy’s Donal Logue. Other members of the cast include Sean Pertwee, Zabryna Guevara and Erin Richards.
Gotham is being developed by The Mentalist’s Bruno Heller and the pilot will be directed by CSI’s Danny Cannon. It is a Warner Bros TV production.
As for Smith, she was last seen on TV in TNT’s Hawthorne and she also appeared in the last two Matrix films and Collateral.
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