Jeffrey Wright Slams Racist Backlash, Excited to Return as Gordon in The Batman 2

Jeffrey Wright is no stranger to bold roles, but his turn as Commissioner James Gordon in Matt Reeves’ The Batman (2022) sparked a conversation that has stubbornly refused to fade. Now, with The Batman 2 on the horizon for its October 2027 release, Wright is both eager to step back into Gordon’s trench coat and weary of the same cycle of controversy around his casting.

In a candid interview with Collider, the Oscar-nominated actor called the outrage over a Black actor playing Gordon “so f***ing racist and stupid,” a sentiment he says still shocks him years later.

Wright isn’t just brushing off the criticism – he’s dissecting it. For him, the objection reveals a refusal to acknowledge that superhero films, like the societies that embrace them, evolve. “It’s absent all logic,” Wright explained. “To cling to the idea that Gotham must be stuck in 1939, the year the comics debuted, is absurd. These worlds are supposed to breathe with us. They’re not frozen museum pieces.”

He draws a direct line from the vision of Batman’s Jewish-American creators, Bob Kane and Bill Finger, to the flexibility of today’s adaptations. “Kane and Finger imagined Gotham based on what surrounded them – a gritty New York. Their genius was that they left the canvas open. That’s why Batman still thrives. These characters were meant to expand with imagination, not shrink with prejudice.”

For Wright, the modern Gotham must mirror the city that inspired it. Reeves’ version, heavily influenced by 1970s noir cinema and the urban chaos of New York, is unapologetically multicultural. “To pretend otherwise would be dishonest,” Wright said. “A Gotham that looks like only one type of person isn’t Gotham. Anyone who’s walked through New York knows that.”

The backlash, however, didn’t just stop at film forums. Social media amplified it into what Wright calls a “manufactured outrage machine.” And he isn’t wrong. Fans have pointed out the double standards: audiences barely flinched at Billy Dee Williams as Harvey Dent in 1989’s Batman, or at radical casting changes in remakes like Battlestar Galactica, where gender and race swaps didn’t prevent acclaim or fan loyalty. What’s different now, many argue, is the weaponization of fandom outrage by online culture wars.

And yet, amid the noise, Wright’s Gordon was widely praised. His gravitas anchored Reeves’ grim detective tale, giving Robert Pattinson’s Batman a human ally with both moral weight and weary authority. Many viewers noted that his Gordon didn’t feel like a stunt or a political statement – he felt like Gordon, full stop. As one fan remarked, “This character has nothing to do with skin color. He nailed it.”

The larger debate remains thorny. Some self-described “purists” insist that a character’s race is intrinsic, pointing out they would object if Black icons like Blade or Black Panther were cast with white actors. Others counter that fictional characters aren’t cultural property, but open to reinterpretation as long as the story earns it. And somewhere between those extremes lies the reality: most moviegoers simply want a strong performance and a compelling story.

Wright himself seems less interested in the endless online tug-of-war and more focused on embodying Gordon again. “I feel that I own these stories as much as anyone,” he said. “And maybe more now, because I’ve put my skin in the game – literally.”

But will Gotham’s saga move at the pace fans hope for? Reeves’ meticulous style has meant long waits between chapters. If the sequel hits its 2027 target, it will arrive five and a half years after The Batman. Whether the third film of Reeves’ planned trilogy follows promptly remains uncertain. Meanwhile, DC Studios co-head James Gunn is plotting his own Batman reboot for the new DC Universe, making clear that Pattinson’s Batman and Wright’s Gordon will remain in their own self-contained world.

That separation may be a blessing. Reeves’ Gotham, grounded and atmospheric, and Gunn’s broader DCU can both exist without trampling each other. And Jeffrey Wright, unbothered by lingering trolls, is ready to prove once again why his Gordon deserves to stand alongside the greatest cinematic versions of the character. The debate may rage on in forums and comment threads, but in Gotham itself, performance will speak louder than prejudice.