Even James Bond Couldn't Prepare Jeffrey Wright For The Intensity Of Batman Fans
Jeffrey Wright's face and acting style are likely very familiar to you if you're a genre fan. He's appeared in "The Hunger Games" franchise, the video game "The Last of Us Part II," Marvel's animated series "What If... ?," and "Westworld." The Emmy and Tony Award-winning actor played the role of Felix Leiter in three James Bond films with Daniel Craig: "Casino Royale," "Quantum of Solace," and "No Time to Die." He's even been on "Sesame Street." Even with these major roles, his biggest one to date as far as fandom goes is his work as Lieutenant James Gordon in Matt Reeves' gothic and sleuthful "The Batman."
Now, James Bond is a huge franchise that has been going strong for decades. Playing the role of the CIA operative and Bond buddy is a really big deal. There are fans from a number of generations, and the debate about casting is always at the forefront of movie conversation. Still, it's hard to get much bigger than a Batman film. In a recent interview with The Independent, Wright spoke about shooting two major films ("No Time to Die" and "The Batman") back to back and the popularity of the Caped Crusader and his Gothamic world.
'I'll have to say that there's a passion around Batman'
Wright told the outlet that he spent a lot of time flying back and forth between his home in New York and London, where both shoots took place. He also spoke about the response to "The Batman." He said:
"Bond is the most successful franchise in cinema, but I'll have to say that there's a passion around Batman, and the level of expectation around Batman from fans — from a global audience that I've not experienced before, even these huge monster franchises that I've worked on — This is kind of new territory for me."
Batman fans and DC fans, in general, are very, very passionate, often taking their opinions to extremes on social media. It's not that Bond fans aren't, of course. Both franchises have been around for a long time, with the first Batman comic appearing in 1939 and the first Bond book by Ian Fleming in 1953. Bond fans are very willing to get into a rousing discussion of who should be cast as the suave spy. It just doesn't compare to the volume and frequency of social media posts about Batman. It's got to be intimidating for any actor willing to take on a role in a Batman film.
'There's something that's deeply personal and deeply important for fans'
As far as his own thoughts on why the Batman film franchise is so popular. He told The Independent:
"I think there's an element of trust that audiences have in these characters and that they've had over many decades, that generates a passion for them, particularly in an increasingly untrustworthy world, an increasingly kind of unstable and fluid world. These characters and these stories are, I think, grabbed onto even more intensely by fans, because it's a place that they can lay down their trust, even in the villainous. They know what to expect, or they know within parameters what to expect. Certainly with the heroic characters. There's something that's deeply personal and deeply important for fans, I think — particularly now."
It makes sense, the idea that one of the draws for all of us is the comfort of knowing what to expect from franchises. He mentions that this is important "particularly now," and it certainly does make sense after the collective trauma we've all been through in recent years. There is something soothing about seeing the characters you know so well have new adventures, without worrying that much about choices. We know what someone like the Riddler (Paul Dano) is going to do, even if we don't know the specifics. We know James Gordon is going to be an ally to Batman (Robert Pattinson), who we are sure will save the day.
Batman fans are intense, but they have three-quarters of a century of fandom to look back at. There's a lot to love.
"The Batman" is currently streaming on HBO Max.