The Batman: Commissioner Gordon Actor Teases Movie's Comic Inspirations

Jeffrey Wright, who will play Jim Gordon in The Batman, has posted a photo of the classic Batman comic, The Long Halloween, in a potential tease of the movie's inspirations. The Batman is tasked with rebooting the seminal DC character after Ben Affleck's exit from the series and will feature a star-studded cast alongside the newly mustachioed Wright's maybe-not-yet-commissioner Gordon including Robert Pattinson (Batman), Zoe Kravitz (Catwoman), Colin Farrell (The Penguin), Paul Dano (The Riddler), John Turturro (Carmine Falcone), and Andy Serkis (Alfred). The movie has shown a little of what it has to offer through looks at Pattinson's Batman costume and the different take on the Batmobile but has not revealed any official plot details as of yet.

The Long Halloween, on the other hand, is one of the most famous and influential Batman stories ever produced. It continues the continuity of Batman: Year One and follows a young caped crusader as he works to solve the mystery of a villain known as Holiday who has been murdering one person a month on holidays. In addition to the investigation, Batman is tasked with de-escalating a gang war between the Maroni and Falcone crime families, dealing with appearances from many of his most famous villains from Joker to Mad Hatter, and deciphering the cryptic hints from the incarcerated Calendar Man.

Wright's Instagram post is of the cover of the celebrated comic and features the caption, "Another for the culture." This post is a follow-up to a previous post of his where he showed off the cover of Batman: The Golden Age - Volume One that was captioned "Background reads for the culture. In the beginning..." Check out the latest post below:

This isn't the first time that The Long Halloween has been connected to The Batman, with Kevin Smith teasing that the adaptation was in the cards on his podcast FatMan Beyond. The story is one of the best and most influential comics in the Batman mythos so it's exciting to see its adaptation becoming more and more of a real possibility. It's credited with creating the modern versions of many in Batman's rogues gallery and has already been a major inspiration for movies like The Dark Knight.

However, that same level of influence is why fans should temper their expectations for a direct adaptation of the comic's storyline. A major element of the comic's plot is Harvey Dent's corruption into Two-Face, a storyline that was covered thoroughly in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight. On top of that, it's already receiving a direct animated adaptation and The Batman's expansive cast doesn't feature major Long Halloween players like Dent, Joker, and Calendar Man. That isn't to say that the comic won't be a huge influence on the film, though, and if nothing else, it's a major Jim Gordon story so it makes sense from a research standpoint for Wright's take on the character. Whether or not The Long Halloween will be a touchstone for The Batman will be revealed when the movie arrives in theaters next summer.

Next: The Batman: DC Stories That Could Influence Robert Pattinson's Dark Knight

Source: Jeffrey Wright