Jeffrey Wright says he has a copy of The Batman Part II script

Jeffrey Wright, who plays Commissioner Jim Gordon in Matt Reeves's Batman films, disclosed this week that he has received a copy of the highly guarded screenplay for The Batman Part II, posting a photograph on Instagram of a sealed black envelope secured with a coded zipper and a bat emoji. Wright’s post signals that key cast and production members are beginning to get scripts as the sequel inches closer to production.

Wright’s image, which did not reveal any story details, made him one of only a small group of people to have seen the script, according to reports. The list of recipients reportedly includes Robert Pattinson, who will reprise Batman, DC Studios coheads James Gunn and Peter Safran, and producers Dylan Clark, David Zaslav and Chantal Nong. Colin Farrell, who plays Oz Cobblepot also known as the Penguin, said he had received a copy but had not yet had time to read it. Trade reports say Andy Serkis is expected to return as Alfred and that Barry Keoghan may reprise the Joker, though that has not been confirmed by the studio.

The distribution of scripts comes amid varying accounts of the production timeline. Studio filings and industry reports have placed the start of...