After Kevin Feige saw a trailer for “The Batman” last year, The Hollywood Reporter grilled him on his response to it during a wide-ranging interview. The Marvel Studios head responded positively, saying, “I thought it was great, and I thought he was great and everybody was great.” He is, of course, referring to Andy Serkis, who is taking on the role of Bruce Wayne’s butler and parental figure Alfred Pennyworth in the upcoming movie. Serkis directed last year’s Tom Hardy “Spider-Man” spinoff sequel, “Venom: Let There Be Carnage,” and has previously worked with “The Batman” director Matt Reeves when he played Caesar the Ape in Reeves’ “Planet of the Apes” prequel trilogy.
Feige also singled out another “The Batman” star with previous MCU credits for praise, saying, “Jeffrey Wright, our Watcher, is great.” Wright plays Gotham Police Commissioner James Gordon in the new Batman flick, and voiced the Watcher in the Disney+ MCU animated series, “What If…?” Feige continued, “I am beginning to think it’s Jeffrey Wright’s world and we live in it.”
It’s a bit telling that Feige contained his praise to multiple instances of the somewhat nondescriptive “great,” and that he singled out actors who had connections to Marvel projects for specific adoration. DC remains Marvel’s biggest competitor at the box office, after all, and perhaps Feige knows better than to give out too much free press. As we all know, with great power comes great responsibility.