Even though specific plot details concerning Matt Reeves’ The Batman are understandably being kept under wraps, one thing that has been made abundantly clear is that it will be packed with villains. The latest update on this front is that Zoë Kravitz has been cast to play Selina Kyle, a.k.a. Catwoman.
It was reported earlier this year that Catwoman would be among the members of the Caped Crusader’s rogues gallery taking part in The Batman, and now it’s being reported that Zoë Kravitz has scored the role. She will be the fourth actress to portray Selina Kyle in a live action movie, following Lee Meriwether in 1966’s Batman, Michelle Pfeiffer in 1992’s Batman Returns and Anne Hathaway in 2012’s The Dark Knight Rises. (Sorry, folks, Halle Berry played Patience Phillips in the poorly-received 2004 movie Catwoman.)
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Zoë Kravitz beat out actresses Ana de Armas, Ella Balinska and Eiza Gonzalez for the role. Funny enough, The Batman will Kravitz’s second time portraying Catwoman in a theatrical movie, as she previously voiced the character in The LEGO Batman Movie.
This will be Zoë Kravitz second live-action superhero movie appearance, having previously appeared as Angel Salvadore in X-Men: First Class. Kravitz’s other notable credits include the Divergent movies, Mad Max: Fury Road, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald and Big Little Lies.
The actress joins a cast that officially only consists so far of Robert Pattinson, who was confirmed to be playing Bruce Wayne at the end of May. That said, last month it was reported that Jeffrey Wright is in talks to play Commissioner James Gordon, as well as Jonah Hill was being looked at to play either The Penguin or The Riddler. It’s unclear if either of those two have actually signed on to The Batman yet, although Wright has been having fun teasing his lined-up role.
Rather than serving as a platform to look at the earlier adventures of Ben Affleck’s Batman, The Batman will be a completely standalone affair, although the plan is for it to be the first step towards establishing a wider Bat-world. Aside from Catwoman, Riddler and Penguin, other villains who are rumored to appear included Two-Face, Firefly and Mad Hatter.
As mentioned earlier, officially speaking, we don’t know anything about The Batman’s story just yet other than it will be noir-toned and see the eponymous protagonist putting his detective skills to work. That said, rumor has it the movie will adapt The Long Halloween storyline, where Batman spent over a year tracking down a serial killer and crossing paths with many of his familiar adversaries in the process.
With filming set to begin in the early months of 2020, The Batman will swoop into theaters on June 25, 2021, so keep checking back with CinemaBlend for more updates on its progress. You can also find out what other DC movies are on the horizon in our handy guide.
