Despite Ben Affleck’s time as the Dark Knight not getting the kind of critical and commercial reaction that Warner Bros. were hoping for, Matt Reeves’ The Batman is arguably under even more pressure to succeed. For one, re-casting and rebooting the title character so soon after Justice League is a virtual admission of failure on the studio’s part, and it’ll be a pivotal project in establishing their new creative direction.
Also, with Reeves reportedly keen to ensure that his movie exists outside of the DCEU’s continuity, there will also be the inevitable comparisons to the zeitgeist-grabbing Joker. Not only are the two arch-nemeses inextricably linked, but Todd Phillips and Joaquin Phoenix have set the precedent for standalone DC outings, having enjoyed billion dollar success and awards season glory.
With production currently shut down due to the Coronavirus pandemic, the cast and crew will no doubt be itching to return to work, having only been shooting for several weeks before they were sent home. Plenty of rumors have already been making the rounds about the possible direction of the story, too, and we’ve now heard that The Batman will be taking cues from the comic books when it comes to depicting one of the movie’s major characters.
According to our sources – the same ones who told us Justice League Dark and Green Lantern shows were coming to HBO Max, and that Viola Davis was returning for The Suicide Squad – Zoe Kravitz’s Selina Kyle will be bisexual in the film. Which, of course, is something that became canon in the pages of DC Comics several years ago.
Obviously, characters in any movie aren’t defined by their sexuality, but it will at least be interesting to see an interpretation of Catwoman on the big screen that isn’t totally reliant on Bruce Wayne to define her story arc, as was the case with Michelle Pfeiffer in Batman Returns and Anne Hathaway in The Dark Knight Rises. Sure, some people on a forum somewhere will be infuriated as they usually are when these kinds of things are revealed, but if it ties organically into the narrative and plays a major part in how Reeves and Kravitz plan on depicting Selina, then The Batman could turn out all the better for it.
