Jeffrey Wright can dust off the sand from ‘Westworld’, but where he’s going, it’s even grimier. The Hollywood Reporter has… er, reported that Wright is in negotiations to play Commissioner James “Jim” Gordon in Matt Reeves’ DC Comics reboot flick ‘The Batman’. He will be starring opposite Robert Pattinson, who was announced as the new big-screen Dark Knight at the end of May. No one else has been officially announced as part of the cast, although there have been plenty of rumors, including one that stated that Reeves had met with Mahershala Ali for the role of Gordon.
Commissioner Gordon is one of Batman’s longest-running supporting cast members, making his debut in ‘Detective Comics’ #27, the issue that first introduced the Dark Knight himself. Ben McKenzie recently portrayed a much younger take on Gordon on ‘Gotham’. Before him, Neil Hamilton played the role on the 1960s ‘Batman’ TV show and in the tie-in movie. In film, Lyle Talbot, Pat Hingle, Gary Oldman, and J.K. Simmons have also depicted him.
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Considering that ‘The Batman’ focuses on a period early into the crime fighter’s career, it’s possible that Gordon will not yet be the police commissioner. It is also expected that the film will contain Alfred, Catwoman, Firefly, The Mad Hatter, The Penguin, The Riddler, Two-Face, and maybe even Robin.
Wright has had a long and distinguished career. He won a Golden Globe and an Emmy for his performance in the 2004 miniseries ‘Angels in America’. He has twice been nominated for the Emmys for ‘Westworld’. He may also be recognized for ‘The Manchurian Candidate’, ‘Broken Flowers’, ‘Casino Royale’, ‘W.’, ‘Quantum of Solace’, ‘The Ides of March’, ‘Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close’, ‘Boardwalk Empire’, and the ‘Hunger Games’ movies. He can currently be seen in ‘The Goldfinch’ and will co-star in Steven Soderbergh’s Netflix movie ‘The Laundromat’. He is also lending his voice to the upcoming Disney+ Marvel animated series ‘What If…?’.
‘The Batman’ is due to hit theaters on June 25, 2021. Check back for updates!
