Alexander Siddig is probably equally beloved as Julian Bashir on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and the strategically minded Doran Martell on Game of Thrones. And he’s about to add another genre role to the pile, joining Gotham as long-time Batvillain Ra’s Al Ghul.
Al Ghul, if you’re unfamiliar, leads the League of Assassins, which is pretty much self-explanatory. Beyond that, in Bat-lore, he’s a global terrorist and supervillain who uses Lazarus Pits, basically magic hot springs, to keep himself immortal. He also has a daughter, Talia, who Batman tends to have a thing for in both the comics and adaptations, to the point where he has a son with her. (Why, precisely, Batman couldn’t fit a condom on that utility belt has yet to be explained.)
Anyway, considering Bruce Wayne is still technically an eighth grader, they probably won’t get too deeply into the whole Bruce/Talia thing this season. Although, considering Gotham‘s penchant for bizarre plot twists and soap opera, the show going all Teen Mom isn’t out of the question. Instead, it turns out Siddig will be the man behind the Court of Owls, the creepy conspiracy that runs Gotham City and killed Bruce’s parents. It seems that Bruce, Alfred, and the rest of the Gotham team will antagonize the League while taking down the Owls, and that’s how Ra’s plays into this. We’ll see how Ra’s ties into the wild world of Gotham later this year.
Full press release:
Alexander Siddig (Game of Thrones, Peaky Blinders, 24, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, DaVinci’s Demons) has been cast to recur as supervillain Ra’s Al Ghul on Gotham.
As Bruce (David Mazouz) pulls the veil off the COURT OF OWLS, he finds the man pulling the strings is the enigmatic and powerful RA’S AL GHUL. With his past shrouded in mystery, Ra’s Al Ghul uses cunning and deception to lay waste to his foes. As the leader of an international criminal organization known as the LEAGUE OF SHADOWS, Ra’s Al Ghul will prove himself to be Bruce’s most dangerous adversary yet.
The third season of Gotham will return to FOX on Monday, April 24th at 8/7c. Siddig will first appear later this season.