Jeffrey Wright will play Commissioner Gordon in “The Batman,” director Matt Reeves announced Wednesday.
Late in the afternoon, Reeves tweeted a gif of Wright saying “Tweet something,” along with the text “Tweet! #Gordon,” and a bat emoji.
Created in 1939 by Bill Finger and Bob Kane, Jim Gordon is commissioner of Gotham City’s police department, most often portrayed as a veteran officer who formed an unofficial partnership with Batman first to combat systemic corruption inside GPD and later to deal with the supervillains plaguing the city. He’s also the father of Barbara Gordon, who secretly fights crime alongside the caped crusader as Batgirl. Gordon’s backstory is further elaborated on in Frank Miller’s “Batman: Year One,” where he’s depicted as a disgraced Chicago cop who finds personal and career redemption after moving to Gotham City just as Batman begins his caped crusade.
Wright will be the sixth live-action actor to portray Gordon. Lyle Talbot first played the role in a 15-episode “Batman” movie serial from 1949. Next was Neil Hamilton in 1966’s “Batman: The Movie,” and the subsequent “Batman” TV series. Two decades later, Pat Hingle played the role in the “Batman” film series kicked off in 1989 with Tim Burton’s film. Gary Oldman played the character in Christopher Nolan’s “Dark Knight” trilogy. Most recently a younger version of the character was played by Ben McKenzie on the prequel TV series “Gotham.”
Directed by Matt Reeves and written by Reeves and Mattson Tomlin, “The Batman” will star Robert Pattinson in the title role, with Paul Dano as The Riddler and Zoe Kravitz as Catwoman. Plot details are still under wraps but Reeves has said it will be an “original” story with noir elements, set somewhat early in Batman’s career without being an origin story.
“The Batman” will be released on June 25, 2021.
Tweet! #Gordon 🦇 pic.twitter.com/O4PBX7MmuH
— Matt Reeves (@mattreevesLA) October 30, 2019