'The Batman' Finds Its Catwoman In Zoe Kravitz

Matt ReevesThe Batman has found its Catwoman. Zoe Kravitz (Big Little Lies) will join Robert Pattinson in the new take on the Dark Knight. Not much is known about Reeves' new Batman movie, except for the fact that it's going to be yet another fresh start for the character, completely removed from Ben Affleck's recent DCEU Caped Crusader.The Wrap is reporting that Zoe Kravitz will be playing Catwoman/Selina Kyle in the upcoming The Batman. She'll be appearing alongside Robert Pattinson, who is playing Bruce Wayne/Batman. Jeffrey Wright is in talks to play Commissioner Gordon, and Jonah Hill is rumored to be playing the Riddler. Plot details are still under wraps, but it's safe to assume the movie will involve Batman punching people in the face. Just a guess. At the same time, Reeves has gone on record saying this won't be yet another origin story, and will likely pick up with the Dark Knight while he's already in the midst of his crime-fighting career.

Reeves himself has more or less confirmed the news, tweeting:

Kravitz's casting is pitch-perfect, and there's also a bit of irony here. Back in 2015, the actress revealed she was denied an audition for The Dark Knight Rises for being too "urban." "In the last Batman movie, they told me that I couldn't get an audition for a small role they were casting because they weren't 'going urban,'" Kravitz said. "It was like, 'What does that have to do with anything?' I have to play the role like, 'Yo, what's up, Batman? What's going on wit chu?'" The part in question ended up going to Juno Temple, playing a character who was friends with that movie's Catwoman, played by Anne Hathaway.

In addition to Big Little Lies, Kravitz has appeared in Mad Max: Fury Road, the Fantastic Beasts films, and X-Men: First Class. She also lent her voice to Mary Jane in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.  

Reeves wrote the script for The Batman along with Mattson Tomlin, and the project is slated to start shooting in January. Warner Bros. has been trying to get a new standalone Bat-film off the ground for quite some time now. At one point, Ben Affleck was set to both direct and star in a new film that would feature his Batman from Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League. Affleck later stepped away from directing the project but was still said to be starring in the film. Eventually, that changed too, and eventually the role went to Robert Pattinson.

The Batman is set to open June 25, 2021.Update: It looks like Deadpool's Zazie Beetz and Baby Driver's Eiza Gonzalez were the other finalists for the part.