Gotham casting news is an exciting prospect.  This iteration even included A-List characters like Oswald Cobblepot (better known as the Penguin) and Alfred Pennyworth.  If you were expecting familiar faces, think again.¹

If this show succeeds, which I think it will, Sean Pertwee could become the next Alan Napier, but for now the pertinent press release information from Fox comes from the character descriptions.  Oswald Cobblepot will be “a low-level psychopath for gangster Fish Mooney” and Alfred will be a “tough-as-nails ex-marine from East London” who is “fiercely protective of the young Bruce Wayne” in “the wake of their tragic deaths.”  I love that the Artist Someday To Be the Penguin is involved in organized crime and that Alfred has a military background.  Also, we learn that Gotham will begin after the Thomas and Martha Wayne murders in the the Batman origin story timeline (although I expect many a nightmarish flashback).

Although not as exciting in pre-buzz speculation, casting relative unknown actors is a good thing longterm to allow the audience to build a loyal relationship with characters that have already been portrayed so many times throughout so many Dark Knight story iterations.  Holy anticipation, Batman!