Hey, if Arrow can do it...
Variety has word that the Fox series Gotham has cast Alexander Siddig as DC Comics supervillain Ra's al Ghul, who will appear later in the show's third season after it returns in April.
According to the article, Ra's al Ghul is described as "As Bruce (David Mazouz) pulls the veil off the Court of Owls, he learns the man pulling the strings is in fact Ra’s al Ghul. A man shrouded in mystery — and the leader of the international criminal organization the League of Shadows — Ra’s al Ghul uses his cunning and deception to lay waste to his enemies, and will prove to be Bruce’s most dangerous adversary yet."
Siddig, 51, is an English-Sudanese actor best known as Dr. Julian Bashir on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and as Prince Doran Martell on the HBO series Game of Thrones. His film roles include Clash of the Titans (2010) as Hermes, The Fifth Estate, Kingdom of Heaven, and Reign of Fire. He has also appeared in episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation, Peaky Blinders, Atlantis, Primeval, Waking the Dead, Merlin, 24, and Spooks.
Created by Dennis O'Neil and Neal Adams in 1971's Batman (vol.1) #232, Ra's al Ghul first appeared as an international criminal mastermind whose ultimate goal is a world in perfect balance. He believes that the best way to achieve this balance is to eliminate most of humanity, usually assaulting the world's human populace with a biological weapon, such as a genetically-engineered virus. His lifespan has been extended several centuries by the Lazarus Pits, reservoirs of rejuvenating chemicals that restore the dead and dying to life.
Ra's considers Batman his worthiest opponent, addressing him as "Detective" out of respect for his intellectual brilliance, and has frequently sought to make the Dark Knight his successor. He is also one of the few criminals in Batman's rogues gallery to have deduced his secret identity as Bruce Wayne, and keeps silent on the matter due to the same sense of respect for Batman and his daughter, Talia, with whom the two share a son, Damian Wayne.
Siddig will be the third actor to portray the character in live action, after Liam Neeson in the films Batman Begins and The Dark Knight Rises, and Matt Nable on the television series Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow. The character has also appeared in various animated projects, including Batman: The Animated Series, Superman: The Animated Series and Batman Beyond (voiced by David Warner), Batman: The Brave and the Bold (voiced by Peter Woodward), Young Justice (voiced by Oded Fehr), Beware the Batman (voiced by Lance Reddick), Batman: Under the Red Hood (voiced by Jason Isaacs), Son of Batman (voiced by Giancarlo Esposito), and Justice League vs. Teen Titans (voiced by Terrence C. Carson).
Gotham returns to Fox on Monday, April 24th at 8:00 p.m. EST.