Jeffrey Wright Talks ‘The Batman Part II,’ Being Marvel’s The Watcher & Spike Lee’s ‘High And Low’ Remake

Jeffrey Wright is one of the best actors working today. And if you needed proof about that, you just have to look at his schedule. The man is constantly working on highly-anticipated films. And recently, he sat down with The Playlist’s “Bingeworthy” podcast to talk about a couple big projects he has coming up. 

You can’t talk to Wright without at least mentioning “The Batman.” In Matt Reeves’ “The Batman,” Wright plays Commissioner Gordon. It’s an iconic role that is sure to show up again in “The Batman: Part II.” But even still, Wright is the first to say that he doesn’t know what’s going on with the sequel, however, he’s excited to be part of Reeves’ interpretation of Gotham.

READ MORE: 2024 Fall Film Preview: 50 Movies To Watch

“Matt’s been off doing his thing and I’ve been off doing my thing and our things have not intersected again just yet,” said Wright about “The Batman: Part II.” “But they will in the months ahead. I’m excited to see what he’s come up with for the second iteration. I love his version of Gotham.”

He added, “I love that it’s grimy and grounded. And there’s a wonderful realism to it. And it harkens back to kind of a cinematic realism of films of the ‘70s. You know, like obviously there were references to ‘Taxi Driver’ and films like those. It’s just a really wonderful, wonderful, wonderful way of placing his version of Batman. And yeah, I can’t wait to get to Gotham.”

Originally, we were likely going to see Wright’s version of Gordon show up on the small screen. There were reports that Gordon was going to be part of the “Gotham PD” show that was being developed for HBO and Max. However, that show fell apart. And according to Wright, it seems as if he was in talks to be part of it, even though it was a reduced role.

“Yeah, there was a possibility,” said the actor. “And then things happen behind the scenes. But Gordon wasn’t to have been central to that, which I thought was cool, too. He was going to pop in and out of that.”

Another superhero universe the actor is part of is the MCU, where he plays Uatu the Watcher in “What If…?” But with the series coming to an end next month with the impending Season 3, will we see Wright step up for a live-action return in a film? In the comics, Uatu is seemingly always lurking in the shadows. 

“You know, anything is possible,” said Wright. “I love voicing that character. I love doing voice work because it’s like playing an instrument.”

He added, “You know, I guess in some ways, like, you know, like a musician might play off of sheet music. It’s just another aspect of what I get to do. That’s really fun. I mean, you know, I’m open to anything. My dance card is pretty filled right now. But yeah, I’m open to talking about it at the very least.”

Support independent movie journalism to keep it alive. Sign up for The Playlist Newsletter. All the content you want and, oh, right, it’s free

One thing we know, for certain, that Wright is working on is Spike Lee’s reimagining of the classic Kurosawa film, “High and Low.” While the film doesn’t have a release date, Wright is happy to tease it just a little.

“Spike does, you know, Spike things. Spike is fantastic. It’s the first time that we’ve worked together to this extent,” said Wright. “But it was fantastic to get in there and be a part of this film and work with Denzel Washington. And I think it’s the fifth time that they’ve worked together. And I mean, that’s an iconic dynamic duo right there.”

Jeffrey Wright can be seen in his new TV series, “The Agency,” which debuts on Paramount+ with Showtime on November 29. All of this, and much more, is discussed in the upcoming episode of “Bingeworthy.” 

-additional reporting by Mike DeAngelo