Dexter’s David Zayas Cast as Sal Maroni in GOTHAM

Last weekend, I had the opportunity to watch the pilot for Fox’s Batman prequel, Gotham. It was one of the best pilot episodes I’ve seen in recent memory. They really have created a rich, expansive world that begs to be explored further. Every member of the cast remained faithful and familiar to those beloved and infamous characters while, at the same time, bringing something new and exciting. Even though the many unknown actors were most entrancing (Robin Lord Taylor as Oswald Cobblepot is a revelation!), the more well-known actors also disappeared into their new roles.

The casting choices have been perfect so far, so I fully trust they’ll make good use of Dexter’s David Zayas, who has been cast as mafia boss Salvatore Maroni. The character was previously featured in The Dark Knight, and was played by Eric Roberts.

Deadline, who broke the news, also provided a little more background on the character:

Maroni is a street operator who clawed his way into the city’s drug trade and unions. He is second only to Carmine Falcone in power and reach, and second to none in his appetite for violence. In time, Maroni will develop into one of Batman’s first enemies and become infamous as the man responsible for disfiguring DA Harvey Dent, leading to his transformation into Two-Face. But for now, as he strives to gain more territory in Gotham, he’ll find himself on a crash course with his rival Falcone (John Doman) for control of the city.

Zayas, a former New York police officer, played the head of a Latino prison gang on HBO’s Oz, and is most known for playing detective Angel Batista for 8 seasons on Showtime’s Dexter. It’ll be interesting to see Zayas back on the other side of the law and how his role will expand as this show goes on. 

Gotham premieres on Fox this fall on September 22, 2014.