The Batman Star Calls Playing Iconic DC Characters An Exciting Challenge - Screen Rant

The Batman star Jeffrey Wright reflects on playing an iconic DC character and describes it as an exciting challenge. For the umpteenth time, DC's most beloved hero is getting another big screen adaptation. But this time around, Bruce Wayne, aka Batman, promises to be vastly different from any previous iteration. Robert Pattinson steps into the role of Bruce for The Batman, which finds him in his second year of being Gotham's complicated knight. Matt Reeves serves as director, and by all accounts, he seems to have crafted a unique and gritty take on the Batman mythology.

The Batman finds Bruce contending with a string of murders among Gotham's elite. A masked Riddler (Paul Dano) is the one behind it, and it will take all of Bruce's considerable skill as a detective to unravel the puzzle the Riddler has laid for him. Beyond those two, The Batman features a surprisingly large number of iconic DC characters, from Catwoman (Zoë Kravitz) to a pre-Penguin Oswald Cobblepot (Colin Farrell). Andy Serkis, meanwhile, plays Alfred Pennyworth, while Wright assumes the role of a Jim Gordon before he's made commissioner of the Gotham PD.

Screen Rant recently got the chance to sit down with the stars of The Batman for an interesting conversation. While speaking to both Dano and Wright, the latter actor reflected on what comes with playing popular DC characters. Though some might write it off as just playing a silly comic book figure, Wright understood the significance that comes from assuming the role of someone like Jim Gordon. He said:

...It's not trivial stuff. That comes with its responsibilities. Like Paul, I don't know if it's scary, or if it's thrilling. I think it's thrilling, and it's an exciting challenge to take on.

Jeffrey Wright and Robert Pattinson in The Batman

Particularly in the cases of those like Gordon and the Riddler, fans have seen their fair share of onscreen depictions for each, and they likely have some extra comic book knowledge on the side as well. Therefore, they have strong opinions about how they should be portrayed. These are characters who have stood the test of time and crossed several mediums, meaning all of them have a storied history that The Batman now gets to add to. As Wright said, that brings responsibility, and also a challenge. With the challenge aspect, that likely has to do with needing to find a new approach to a well-known character, which can't always be easy.

Luckily, though, it so far looks like The Batman has managed to do just that for all of its DC players. Bruce has the biggest focus by far in the film, but fans will also be treated to unique takes on those like Gordon, the Riddler, and Catwoman. The Batman is poised to be the eponymous character's biggest movie yet, and the early buzz is favorable. Though the full reactions won't arrive until next week, it could be that Reeves has pulled off something truly special and new with some well-trodden characters, and that's quite an achievement.

More: Can The Batman 2's Batsuit Top Pattinson's Perfect Costume?

Key Release Dates

The Batman (2022)Release date: Mar 04, 2022
DC League of Super-Pets (2022)Release date: May 20, 2022
Black Adam (2022)Release date: Jul 29, 2022
The Flash (2022)Release date: Nov 04, 2022
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2022)Release date: Dec 16, 2022
Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2023)Release date: Jun 02, 2023

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About The Author

Rachel Labonte (3210 Articles Published)

Rachel LaBonte is a news, feature, and movie review writer for Screen Rant with a deep passion for film and television. A graduate of Emerson College, she majored in Media Arts Production while specializing in screenwriting. She's been a writer ever since high school when she realized she was rather good at it and joined as many entertainment news clubs as she could while in school. Most notably, she wrote for Emerson's website Emertainment Monthly, and one of her film reviews won an Evvy (Emerson's student awards) for Best Review. Her deep love of movies led to her working at a movie theater for five years, which she loved despite the angry customers. An avid reader who constantly buys books before reading the ones she already owns, Rachel is a huge fan of superheroes (especially of the Marvel variety) and wizards and will likely never be able to catch up on all the movies/TV shows she longs to watch.