Going from solving grisly murders to ordering them, Dexter alum David Zayas has joined the impressive cast of Fox’s upcoming Gotham, a series which will chart the journey of Jim Gordon (Ben McKenzie) from new cop on the block to the police commissioner of corrupt, crime-ridden Gotham City – long before the Dark Knight ever soared through its skies. The actor will be playing gangster Salvatore “Sal” Maroni in what is described as a recurring role.
Even casual Batman fans should be familiar with Maroni – he was a major character in The Dark Knight, working alongside the Joker to undermine order in Gotham then gets on Harvey Dent/Two-Face’s bad side by helping to perpetrate the kidnapping and murder of his girlfriend Rachel Dawes.
In the comics, as in that film, Maroni was a street operator who worked himself up to a high position of power in the Gotham criminal underworld. He eventually becomes one of Batman’s first enemies, but as Gotham opens, he has not yet become a kingpin. As per Deadline: “For now, as he strives to gain more territory in Gotham, he’ll find himself on a crash course with his rival Falcone (John Doman) for control of the city.”
It’s also likely that Maroni will run up against Fish Mooney (Jada Pinkett Smith), a ruthless mob boss who is in control of much of Gotham as the series begins, and Oswald Cobblepot (Robin Lord Taylor), her right-hand man. It’s unclear how closely Gotham will hew to the Batman mythology, but if it is planning to match up with the comics, expect to see a lot of Zayas over the coming seasons. And by all accounts, that’s a great thing – the actor is tremendously talented, and he’s been sorely missed on the big screen ever since Dexter finished its run back in 2013.
Gotham premieres September 22nd on Fox.
