The latest name to sign on to the already-impressive ensemble cast of The Batman was revealed yesterday, with Peter Sarsgaard announced as the newest member of the roster. The renowned character actor joins the likes of Andy Serkis, Zoe Kravitz, Jeffrey Wright, Paul Dano, Colin Farrell and John Turturro as supporting players in the next big screen adventure for the Dark Knight, with Robert Pattinson set for the title role.
While we already know who most of these stars are playing in the movie, with the exception of relative unknown Jayme Lawson, who may or may not be taking the role of Barbara Gordon, director Matt Reeves neglected to mention Sarsgaard’s character when he made the announcement on social media. As is the case with any casting news related to such a high-profile blockbuster, speculation instantly started on whose shoes the 48 year-old would be filling.
The Hollywood Reporter claimed that Sarsgaard may end up playing one of two roles, either a corrupt cop named Wasserman or a district attorney. While the district attorney part may lead to obvious connections to Harvey Dent, sources close to We Got This Covered – the same ones who told us Jonah Hill and Mahershala Ali were both set for roles in the film before they dropped out, which we now know to be true – have told us that the actor has actually been cast as Peter Grogan.
That may not ring too many bells for those unfamiliar with Batman lore, but in the comics, Peter Grogan was the Deputy Commissioner of the Gotham Police, who eventually became Commissioner before being replaced by Jim Gordon after he was revealed as being corrupt. While Grogan has yet to play a prominent role in any of the Caped Crusader’s big screen outings, the character made his first comic book appearance decades ago.
The Batman is said to be a more noir-driven detective story than the previous movies, so it would make sense for an actor as good at playing the villain as Peter Sarsgaard to be cast as a crooked cop. Hopefully it turns out better than his last stab at comic book villainy though, which saw him chew the scenery as Hector Hammond in the disastrous Green Lantern.
