Image by DC Comics/Art by Joelle Jones
15 years has gone and yet we still can’t unsee Pitof’s 2004 critically panned Catwoman. It’s about time Warner Bros makes up for their debacle — its’s long overdue.
July 13th marked life and death of the lone Catwoman solo movie that left Halle Berry licking her wounds. The movie earned Berry a Razzi, and she mockingly thanked Warner Bros and the writers for their lackluster movie. It was director Pitof’s vision that produced a film that still holds a depressing, 9% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Unfortunately for fans of Selina Kyle, that’s the only Catwoman movie we have. Even after all these years and Anne Hathaway’s portrayal in The Dark Knight Rises, it’s hard to unsee Berry’s Catwoman. Enough time has passed to ease the pain of a vivid distance debacle, and we are long overdue for a redo.
A perrrfect opportunity
There’s a growing hunger for diversity and inclusion; something Warner Bros has strived for with their comic book movies. They already have a few female-centric films underway. Wonder Woman was a gamechanger for the studio and Cathy Yan’s Birds of Prey expects to accomplish a similar feat when it releases on February 7, 2020.
Chrisitna Hodson (Bumblebee and BoP), is expected write a Batgirl script. So why not throw Catwoman into the fold? After all, she’s just as popular as Barbara Gordon, if not more so.
Warner Bros. apparently understands Catwoman’s popularity. Which is probably why there are rumblings across the comic book movie landscape about a Gotham City Sirens film. We’ve seen three different Catwoman origin tales.
The first began with Michelle Phiffer in Tim Burton’s Batman Returns, the second was Pitof’s Catwoman, and the most recent was Nolan’s depiction with Anne Hathaway. However, only the failed movie gave Catwoman the sole spotlight.
Yes, Matt Reeves’ The Batman will introduce Catwoman, but Warner Bros. must give her a solo story. And Reeves doesn’t give Selina Kyle an origin, the studio can should. The Batman could act as an origin for Catwoman.
But that doesn’t have to mean she’s tied to the Caped Crusader. There’s more than one way to skin a cat.
Image by DC Comics
R-rated origin so perrrfect it doesn’t need Batman
The age-old argument for Warner Bros.’ convoluted DC Extended Universe favors its dark tone. It’s the one thing that separates them from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, aside from the heroes themselves. Catwoman fits right into that category and then some.
An origin story is exactly what we need, and it shouldn’t hold back from its comic book counterpart. And it doesn’t need Batman to do it either.
Imagine a story following a teenage girl who the universe chewed up and spit out. A film that pits a young actress in the role that’s a coming of age tale like no other. That’s the story of Selina Kyle. A girl whose childhood is filled with tragedy, death and torture.
At a young age, she saw her mother die after committing suicide. And her father abused both Selina and her little sister before drinking himself to death.
Selina lived on the streets for most of her teenage years, separated from her younger sister. The hardship saw her become one heck of a theif, but she still had a moral code.
In fact, she discovered the orphanage that took her in was embezzled money. To shut her up, they dropped her in the ocean, of course she survived. The young Selina stole the documents and turned them into the police. She’d eventually turn to prostitution as a means of supporting herself, while also acting as a cat burglar.
Her thieving ways eventually led to her coming face to face with a ninja, Kai. She followed him and met Sensei who’d become her mentor, much to the dismay of Kai. Selina would earn the favor of her Sensei and the envy of Kai.
However, after seeing the Dark Knight bleed, Selina would use Batman as inspiration to dawn a suit of her own. While he is the inspiration behind the suit, Batman’s hardly the reason Selina Kyle is who she is.
Image by DC Comics/Art by Scott Godlewski
A perrrfect tale for a different universe
Whether it’s the gothic style of Tim Burton or the grounded take of Chris Nolan, we can’t get enough of a great Catwoman. Walter Hamada’s DC Universe isn’t shy about taking the step on the dark side.
Todd Phillips once pitched the idea of a dark DC label that hasn’t come fruition. But, we are getting a Joker film that isn’t set in any universe we’ve seen. A Catwoman movie can take the same approach.
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Drawing a little inspiration from Tim Burton, a Catwoman movie can feel very much like an R-rated, dark fantasy. Maybe someone like Guillermo del Toro behind the camera in a one off movie could work. Who knows, maybe Halle Berry could return — here’s how.
After 15-years away, Selina returns home to a different Gotham — one void of Batman. But it’s not without a face of justice. A vigilante who has no problem killing the criminals up plagues their city.
His terror reigns over Gotham in a way that makes Batman look tame. A crazed hero who rules with a bloody fist. Even those reformed taste the vengeance of Boneblaster. Turn Boneblaster into a bloody thirsty metahuman.
Berry returning to the role that nearly derailed her career is ambitious. Still, imagine her coming back with a vengeance. She’s making a comeback with roles in The Kingsman and John Wick franchises.
Of course, this is just one idea. Plenty of other qualified people have great ideas — this includes John August’s script . What do you think? What would you like to see from a Catwoman solo film?