Christopher Nolan’s Batman movie series may be over, but that isn’t stopping Anne Hathaway from pondering a return as Selina Kyle, a.k.a. Catwoman, who she played in The Dark Knight Rises. Among the many superhero films audiences will be getting in the coming years include female-led movies like Wonder Woman, Captain Marvel and a rumored Amazing Spider-Man spinoff. With that in mind, when asked by IGN at a recent press even for Interstellar if she would be up for returning to the role in a standalone movie, Hathaway was enthusiastic at the idea, stating:
I would be totally up for doing it. If Chris [Nolan] was involved. For me, the thing that made doing that part particularly fun was that she existed in his Gotham. Without him I don’t think it would be the same thing.
Hathaway also pointed out that while her backstory is interesting, the character might not work as well as a focus because "mystery serves her well." If given the opportunity to return, it sounds like Hathaway would prefer it if Catwoman was in another supporting role rather than leading her own story.
The chances of Hathaway putting on the cat ears again are extremely slim. For one thing, Christopher Nolan hasn’t expressed any interest in directing another DC Comics film even after Warner Bros. wanted him to manage the DC Cinematic Universe. If he’s not behind the project, Hathaway won’t jump on board. The way his films finished should also be taken into account. Unlike most superhero films, the Dark Knight trilogy had a conclusive ending. Bruce Wayne saved Gotham City, passed the mantle to John Blake and is living a vigilante-free life with Selina now. Nolan told the story he wanted to tell, and now Warner Bros. is moving ahead with the DCCU continuity. This version of Catwoman is a thing of the past.
It’s also rare for an actor to play the same character in two different continuities. The only recent example that comes to mind is Dame Judi Dench playing M in the Pierce Brosnan James Bond movies and the Daniel Craig rebooted series. If Catwoman is introduced in the DCCU (and since we’ll eventually get Batman solo films, that’s a likely possibility), she’ll be much more comic book-y than the Nolan incarnation. This Selina Kyle will have the mask and whip, will fully embrace the cat gimmick and will ignite that sexual tension with Gotham City’s Caped Crusader. It’s a different world with a different tone, which means an appropriate Catwoman is called for. Hathaway’s Catwoman was fine for the Nolan world, but she wouldn’t fit in with this fantastical universe.
