Jeffrey Wright has hit back at the "racist and stupid" discourse over his casting as Jim Gordon in The Batman. The Westworld actor told Collider that he was frustrated by the response to his casting as the Gotham City Police Department Lieutenant, who is a close ally of the Caped Crusader, in Matt Reeves's 2022 superhero film. Some comic book fans reacted negatively to the casting news, taking issue with a Black actor playing Gordon for the first time. Reflecting on the backlash, he said, "I really find it fascinating the ways in which there's such a conversation, and I think even more of a conversation now, about Black characters in these roles. It's just so f**king racist and stupid. "It's just so blind in a way that I find revealing to not recognise that the evolution of these films reflects the evolution of society, that somehow it's defiling this franchise not to keep it grounded in the cultural reality of 1939 when the comic books were first published. It's just the dumbest thing. It's absent all logic." The Casino Royale star noted that Gotham City is modelled on New York City, which is a "multicultural place". "So, any Gotham within a contemporary film in the Batman series that's going to be authentic has to be reflective of a modern American metropolis. That's just what it is," he added. Wright told the publication that he is eager to reprise his role alongside Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne/Batman in The Batman: Part II, which will begin shooting in early 2026 ahead of a release in October 2027. The star will next be seen in Spike Lee's crime thriller Highest 2 Lowest, which will premiere on Apple TV+ on Friday.