This article contains spoilers for The Batman (2022).
Catwoman technically starred in her own movie in 2004. But that was a Catwoman movie in name only. The title character played by Halle Berry isn’t even called Selina Kyle; her name is Patience Phillips. In this wildly unfaithful version of the Catwoman story, she magically receives cat-like superpowers from an Egyptian Mau cat. The only connection to the iconic source material is the black leather, and even then, the costume looks more like a Britney Spears stage outfit than the familiar suit from the comics. As a universally adored icon and one of the most complex antiheroes in the DC Comics universe, Catwoman deserves a second chance at a solo movie.
Zoë Kravitz’s refreshing take on Selina – recently introduced in Matt Reeves’ The Batman – is primed to lead her own story. Catwoman is usually depicted as a straightforward villain, or a femme fatale who can’t be trusted and constantly switches allegiance between the Bat and whichever other villains he’s chasing in a given movie. But Kravitz’s version of the character is different. She gave Selina more depth than straightforward villainous portrayals of Catwoman, which is worth exploring in a solo film. This Catwoman isn’t a one-note comic book archetype; she’s nuanced and vulnerable enough to lead her own story. The whole “villain protagonist” thing rarely works out, but this Selina wouldn’t be a villain protagonist. She’s more of an antihero with relatable flaws, sympathetic motivations, and a harrowing backstory.
The ending of The Batman has set up a standalone adventure for Selina. With more crime on the streets than ever before and a waist-deep flood necessitating the involvement of the National Guard, Selina has deemed Gotham to be beyond saving. Before she leaves the city, she namedrops Blüdhaven as a possible destination. Blüdhaven is the similarly crime-ridden New Jersey city between Gotham and Atlantic City where Nightwing went to start a solo vigilante career. Selina could do something similar in her own movie. This would be a great opportunity for a filmmaker to envision a whole new gloomy urban environment within the neo-noir-tinged Batman universe that Reeves has created.
Who Could Direct A Catwoman Movie?
The success of The Batman is that it’s a singular, razor-focused character study of a distinctive version of Bruce Wayne envisioned by Matt Reeves. There are many great visionary filmmakers out there who could give Reeves’ Selina Kyle the same treatment. Greta Gerwig could give audiences another flawed yet lovable antihero like a leather-clad Lady Bird. Lynne Ramsay could helm a grisly vigilante thriller in the vein of You Were Never Really Here. That masterfully crafted Joaquin Phoenix vehicle – framed as a sort of modern-day Taxi Driver – was praised for Ramsay’s directorial command. It’s a classic hitman actioner, but it’s much more interested in its lead character’s troubled psychology than his righteous bloodshed.
Kravitz has confirmed that the Catwoman she plays in The Batman is bisexual, but the film itself skirts around the character’s sexual orientation. Selina has an overt romantic arc with Batman in the movie, but her relationship with her roommate Annika is left ambiguous. There are hints of romance between them, but the movie shies away from depicting any real intimacy, possibly to appease the distributors in certain overseas markets. In a Catwoman solo movie, now that Selina has left the Bat behind and gone off on her own, DC could go beyond the standard Disney-style blink-and-you’ll-miss-it LGBTQ representation and definitively confirm Selina’s bisexuality with a same-sex romance subplot.
1970s Influences
To evoke the beautifully grim tone and style of The Batman, a potential Catwoman movie should lean into the same New Hollywood influences that formed Reeves’ vision of Gotham City. The influence of ‘70s cinema can be seen all over The Batman: Batman and Catwoman’s dynamic is an homage to Klute, the paternal plot twist is a nod to Chinatown, and Bruce’s disturbing diary entries – presented as voiceover narration – are a reference to Taxi Driver.
A Catwoman movie could emulate the themes and storylines of a different neo-noir classic from this era. Exploring the surreal, horror-tinged stylings of David Lynch’s Blue Velvet could help to differentiate a Catwoman solo film from Reeves’ grounded approach to The Batman. In Blue Velvet, Isabella Rossellini plays a tragic subversion of the femme fatale archetype. Dorothy Vallens is terrorized by a sadistic crime boss in the seedy underbelly of quintessential suburban Americana.
Warner executives allowed Reeves to push the limits of the PG-13 rating in The Batman, but Blue Velvet-level existential dread might be a step too far for one of the studio’s tentpole comic book movies. Instead, a Catwoman solo movie could follow the narrative framework of the Michael Caine-starring 1971 noir Get Carter, in which a murder investigation becomes a blood-soaked trail of vengeance on the mean streets of Newcastle. Alternatively, a potential Catwoman movie could be a straightforward female-driven revenge thriller in the style of Pam Grier’s action-packed blaxploitation gems, with uncompromising violence and a glorious final showdown with a legion of pulpy, tough-as-nails baddies.
The possibilities are endless. Kravitz has yet to headline a blockbuster movie – she’s usually relegated to supporting roles – but she just needs the opportunity to carry a solo project. She gave a scene-stealing turn in The Batman that threatened to overshadow the Bat himself. Catwoman is practically a co-lead in the movie. After the introduction of Kravitz’s fan-favorite take on the role, this antihero Catwoman deserves to take center stage in a film of her own.