Ben McKenzie has landed the role of Commissioner Gordon, one of the leads in Gotham, Fox's upcoming Batman series. The O.C's actor will play a young James Gordon who works as an homicide detective before eventually becoming Commissioner Gordon. The show will also reportedly include younger versions of Bruce Wayne, his Butler Alfred and villains The Joker, Catwoman, the Riddler and the Penguin.

Ben McKenzie
Ben McKenzie Will Play Commissioner Gordon In Fox's 'Gotham.'

Gordon's character was created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane in 1939 and has served since as a key asset to Batman's crime-fighting motives as the franchise grew to be the most prized DC property. Gotham's plotlines will focus on Gordon's career and "the villains that made Gotham famous" before Batman arrived on the scene, reports Deadline.

Gotham will flesh out the character's back story and McKenzie will play Gordon as an idealistic rookie detective for Gotham City Open Police Department's Homicide Squad - a former college football star, and war hero.

Ben McKenzie Out Of The Box Launch
McKenzie Will Portray A Young & Idealistic James Gordon On His Way Up In The Police Force.

It was initially reported that the caped crusader wouldn't be making an appearance in the spin-off show but apparently Gotham will feature a young Bruce Wayne and chart his life from the pre-teen year to the moment when he puts on his Batman cape for the first time, according to Variety.

After a bidding war, the Warner Bros show has a commitment over at Fox and the pilot is being written and produced by Bruno Heller, who is best known for The Mentalist, while Judge Dredd's Danny Cannon will direct. The role of Gordon was memorably played by Gary Oldman in Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy, while Pat Hingle took on the role in the 90s Tim Burton and Joel Schumacher films.

Ben McKenzie Terminator Salvation
McKenzie Starred In 2011's 'Batman: Year One' As The Caped Crusader.

McKenzie played Officer Ben Sherman on Southland, which initially ran on NBC before moving to TNT for four seasons. It was cancelled in 2013. Before Southland, the 35 year-old actor starred on FOX's hugely popular The O.C and recently completed work on movie How To Make Love Like an Englishman with Pierce Brosnan, Jessica Alba and Salma Hayek.

McKenzie gained familiarity with the Batman franchise in the 2011 animated movie Batman: Year One, in which he voice Bruce Wayne's lead whilst Breaking Bad's Bryan Cranston took the role of Gordon.

Gotham is likely to debut in late 2014 or 2015.