In a movie industry dominated by legions of superheroes, most of whom are only just reprising their roles from comic books, perhaps a few names stand out. Among the oldest superheroes known to fans and appearing on the big screen are Superman, Batman, and Spider-Man. While the web crawler features regularly in the MCU, Superman, and Batman have made the DCU their own.
Read more: The Batman Review: Perfectly Crafted Noir Thriller
Bruce Wayne’s Batman might be called one of the heroes with the darkest origin stories and character development arcs, and this takes a turn for the worse in the new TV series Gotham Knights (2023), where the series starts off with Wayne dead and Gotham City in arrears without its protector.
Who is Joe Chill – the man who will be played by horror icon Doug Bradley?
Batman’s origin story was marked by the horrifying murder of his parents at the hands of the initially unknown assailant Joe Chill. Different versions of the Batman mythos have different explanations for the Wayne’s murder, with a common one being that Chill was a mugger who killed the parents in front of their son Bruce during a robbery attempt. Other versions paint Chill as a contract killer out to murder the Waynes and make it look like a robbery.
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In the new TV series Gotham Knights, the story picks up from where Batman is already dead, and his adopted son is framed for his murder. Chill is shown as a convict on death row for about fifty years now and on the verge of being executed for his crimes. It is expected, however, that he will be playing a pivotal role in the series. Recent reports revealed that horror icon Doug Bradley would play the role of Chill. In a statement, series co-creators Chad Fiveash, James Stoteraux, and Natalie Abrams applauded the addition of Bradley to the cast.
“When casting the iconic role of Joe Chill, arguably the man who created Batman, there was only one name we considered – Doug Bradley, We needed an actor with the kind of gravitas that would do justice to such a seminal character in DC Comics canon,” they wrote. “And who better to embody the role of the classic Gotham fiend than the man whose legendary portrayal of another classic fiend – Pinhead in the Hellraiser franchise — continues to terrify generations of horror fans?”
Fans will be thrilled to know of his alliance with the franchise and will hope Bradley lives up to his own lofty standards as he plays the nefarious antagonist in the new TV series.
Doug Bradley has had a lot of success as Pinhead in the Hellraiser franchise
Doug Bradley is one of the names you hear first when discussing the horror genre on the big screen. He achieved instant fame with his depiction of Pinhead in the Hellraiser (1987-2022) franchise, with the rendition of the character leaving a ghastly impression on the minds of horror fans across generations.
Although Bradley wasn’t featured as the iconic Pinhead in later versions, his depiction of the leader of the Cenobites, supernatural “explorers in the further regions of experience”, is well-remembered. The sadomasochistic pleasures which the Cenobites help people attain paints them as horror favorites for fans across ages. How Bradley shapes up for his new role in the DCU shall indeed be interesting.
Source: CBR
