Halle Berry open to Catwoman sequel — but only if she’s directing!

Halle Berry made a recent appearance for an interview on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to discuss her new movie Never Let Go. During the interview, host Jimmy Fallon pointed out that this year, 2024, marks the 20th anniversary of Catwoman - something that Berry herself celebrated with a recent post on social media in which she posed with a few rescue kittens.

When asked by Jimmy Fallon about what she remembered about making the film, Berry stated she “loved it” despite it being “panned” by critics. Once asked if she would don the cat suit again, Berry told Fallon “Maybe, if I could direct it.”

Could this be the star's way of leaving the door open for yet another appearance as the Pitof version of the character? The legendary actress is at a stage in her career where she can do whatever she wants, but even if she were to direct another Catwoman project, it would be interesting to see whether it would be a sequel to the previous film or a complete reboot. 

We live in a very different world when it comes to making superhero movies, so more care would be taken to ensure that it was a more comic-accurate project that actually complemented its actors. And that would definitely be the case if Berry herself was in the director's chair.

On the 2004 film, Berry said her children “loved it” saying, “What I’m happy about is... the children have found it now on the Internet.”

“The kids love it. So it’s so vindicating because now they’re saying, ‘It’s cool’ and ‘What the heck was everybody’s problem with it?’ So I’m like, ‘I’m so brat now.”

Since the release of 1992’s Batman Returns, a spin-off of Michelle Pfeiffer’s version of Catwoman had been in the works, set to be directed by Tim Burton with producer Denise Di Novi and screenwriter, Daniel Waters, attached. Though Waters turned in a draft in June 1995 the same day Batman Forever was released, it languished in development hell.

When Warner Bros. canceled their early attempt for Batman vs. Superman, which was scheduled for 2004, they quickly fast-tracked Catwoman as its replacement. But it was no longer set to star Pfeiffer, nor would it focus on the beloved Batman Returns version of the character. Instead, it would be a whole new story, from John Rogers, John Brancato, and Michael Ferris who wrote the screenplay based on a story by Theresa Rebeck. The film starred Berry opposite Benjamin Bratt, Lambert Wilson, Frances Conroy, and Sharon Stone.

Filming began in September 2003, shooting locations in Los Angeles, CA, Winnipeg, Manitoba, at Lionsgate Film Studios in Canada, Vancouver and British Columbia and Warner Bros. Burbank Studios in Burbank, CA until March 2004. Reshoots began June 2004 until a month before release in July 2004.

Catwoman opened with $16.7 million during its opening weekend ranking third behind The Bourne Supremacy and I, Robot, it grossed a disappointing $40.2 million in the US and Canada and $42.2 million in other territories and garnered $82.4 million worldwide against a $100 million production budget.

Pitof known in his native France as a visual effects supervisor was criticized for his handling of the film. Critics loathed it for the film’s weak script, poor VFX, incoherence, and clarity, and it has lived on in the comic book movie sphere in infamy ever since.

The film earned itself multiple awards, but not the good kind. At the Golden Raspberry Awards in 2005, it took home trophies for Worst Picture, Worst Director, Worst Screenplay, and Worst Actress for Berry - which she famously actually showed up to accept. It sits at 8% Certified Rotten against an 18% Audience Score at Rotten Tomatoes.