The DC live-action universe has been in a fascinating place since its inception, and only continues to surprise the public as time goes on. What started with Zack Snyder's Man of Steel and Batman v Superman has grown into a more capsulated universe, with Aquaman and Shazam! proving the DCEU could deliver critically acclaimed blockbusters. All eyes are on what the future will bring, especially as more stories revolving around Gotham City and its denizens make their way to theaters.
Aside from Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of Harley Quinn) and Todd Phillips' Joker, there's another major Gotham-set story that has been developing at the studio. Matt Reeves' The Batman has already had a long gestation period, and new rumors indicate that Robert Pattinson might replace Ben Affleck as the title character. And now it turns out that High School Musical alum Vanessa Hudgens has been campaigning to be the next live-action Catwoman.
Vanessa Hudgens has been making her intentions known over on her personal Instagram page. A number of the 30 year-old actress' fans have edited together images of her as Catwoman, and Hudgens was thrilled with the results. She shared a handful of those images on her Instagram story, with captions like:
Okay. Who do I need to talk to make this happen lol #dreamrole.
From there, she went on to repost various fan-made art with her as the DC femme fatale. What's more, she put her support behind Josh Gad's ongoing campaign to play Penguin. She certainly following in Gad's footsteps in that regard, as he's been teasing fans about the possibility of playing Penguin for years at this point. Unfortunately, Matt Reeves hasn't revealed his cast for The Batman just yet.
If Vanessa Hudgens gets her wish and ends up playing Catwoman, she'll have some very big shoes (or boots) to fill. On the big screen, she was most recently played by Anne Hathaway in The Dark Knight Rises, who played her as a criminal desperate to have a normal life. And Hathaway was preceded by perhaps the most iconic Catwoman ever: Michelle Pfeiffer in Batman Returns. There hasn't been anyone who was quite as sexy and ferocious as Pfeiffer's Selena Kyle, but it looks like Hudgens is ready to give it the old college try.
In fact, Vanessa Hudgens was a major fan of Michelle Pfeiffer's Catwoman since childhood. On her same Instagram story, she shared an image of herself as the character on Halloween. Check it out.
It's currently unclear if Vanessa Hudgens will ever get the chance to play Gotham's most deadly feline. But at least she's proven how much the character means to her-- a passion that could only help her performance is Matt Reeves ends up giving her the role. We'll just have to see if Catwoman ends up being a major part in The Batman, and who Reeves ends up casting to play her.
The Batman is currently set to arrive in theaters on June 25th, 2021. In the meantime, check out our 2019 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.
