With Fox’s Gotham pilot currently filming in New York City, we’ve seen a whole host of new images (both official and non-official) hit the Web, giving us our first look at the new interpretation of iconic Batman characters. Set photos have shown us Ben McKenzie as Detective Jim Gordon, as well as a not-yet-orphaned Bruce Wayne. Fox has also been slowly releasing official promo images and character profiles over the last few days, the first of which were Donal Logue’s Harvey Bullock and newcomer Camren Bicondova as a young Selina Kyle.
Today, we get a look the most important man in Bruce Wayne’s life: his trusted butler, guardian, and eventual accomplice in vigilantism, Alfred Pennyworth. Camelot and Elementary alum Sean Pertwee will take on the role, and though the image below doesn’t reveal much about his character, the accompanying description gives us a hint at what incarnation of Alfred we may end up seeing. Alfred is described as “a tough-as-nails ex-marine from East London who has loyally served the Waynes. Now, in the wake of their tragic deaths, he’s fiercely protective of the young Bruce Wayne.”
Alfred is one of the most recognizable and iconic characters in the Batman mythos, and serves an important role in Bruce’s upbringing. However, the Caped Crusader’s formative years have been largely unexplored in live-action, and since the show will at least focus somewhat on Bruce’s journey from orphan to World’s Greatest Detective, I wonder what kind of role Alfred will play in that transformation. Will he use his military background to help train or at least guide Bruce to his destiny? After all, why describe him as “tough as nails” and an “ex-marine,” if those traits aren’t going to come into play at some point?
A similar approach has been explored in Batman Earth One, a new series by DC Chief Creative Officer (and Gotham executive producer) Geoff Johns. I don’t doubt for a second that his interpretation is the one we’ll see on screen, but we’ll have to wait until Gotham debuts this fall to find out.
