The Batman was hit particularly hard by COVID: production was repeatedly paused, star Robert Pattinson tested positive, and the release date was postponed multiple times. But now, finally, it’s coming to theaters on March 4th, 2022.
It’s been a while since we saw much from the movie, but it seems we’re going to get a new trailer at the DC FanDome event that begins on October 16th. I’m itching to see more of this new Gotham City, especially given the buzz from those who’ve seen test screenings.
A key element will be Zoë Kravitz’s Selina Kyle/Catwoman. This has traditionally been a top role for aspiring actors, following in the whip cracks and leather of icons like Eartha Kitt, Julie Newmar, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Anne Hathaway (everyone is understandably pretending the Halle Berry movie didn’t happen). Now, in an interview with AnotherMag, Kravitz has opened up on the audition process:
“My agent called me and was like, ‘They’re making a Batman movie and there’s a Catwoman role. You’re on the list of actors they are looking at.I think the first thing that happened was I went to LA and met with Matt Reeves, the director, who also wrote the script, and just talked to him. I read the script. Then he talked with me again to hear my thoughts, to see if we were on the same page. I didn’t know him well and it was a bit of a process. When these big opportunities come up, these big roles, and you really want them, it’s heartbreaking when you don’t get them. You put a lot of energy into it.”
Fortunately, Kravitz and Reeves clicked, perhaps because she was so enthusiastic about the script. She continued:
“The thing that I tried to keep in check throughout, though, was just wanting to be agreeable and likeable to get the role. To read the script and say, ‘I love it. I love everything about it.’ Then I go to the audition and I have this puppy dog energy. It was important to give him an idea of what it’s really like to work with me. To say what I really think and, if we’re on set together, to ask the questions I want to ask. I tried to come at it from the angle where I am showing him what I see and feel about this character. I believe that’s why it happened and I got the role. Matt’s a fantastic director, and he’s really into talking about the character. We had some really good conversations. I had some thoughts about the character once I’d read the script too and they were welcomed.”
Personally, the last thing I’d bring to an audition for Catwoman is “puppy dog energy”, but whatever she did worked. Kravitz may have been helped by having already voiced the character in The Lego Batman Movie, which now feels like an audition of its own.
In previous interviews, she’s explained that Catwoman is the feminine foil to Batman’s tortured masculinity, though both characters are driven by a desire to “fight for those who don’t have someone to fight for them.” Her inspirations are Pfeiffer’s incredible take on the role in 1992’s Batman Returns, as well as Frank Miller’s influential and heavily referenced 1987 comic Batman: Year One.
Here’s hoping we see Catwoman in action in this new trailer. In the meantime, roll on The Batman in March 2022. It’s been way too long since the last solo Batman movie, and I can’t wait.
