Back in August, it was reported that Zoë Kravitz may not be back as Selina Kyle, aka Catwoman, for The Batman - Part II. The rumor stemmed from journalists being told not to ask the actress about Matt Reeves' sequel during a Caught Stealing press junket, because she's "not in it and doesn't know anything."
We thought this might simply have been a way for Kravitz to avoid a barrage of questions about a movie she's not allowed to say much about, but Variety has now confirmed that, "Zoe Kravitz’s Catwoman is not expected to return for the film, according to sources with knowledge of the production."
The Batman concluded with The Dark Knight (Robert Pattinson) and Catwoman parting ways, as the latter left Gotham City to start a new life. The two had formed a close bond over the course of the movie, however, and it was generally assumed that Selina would return to lend the hero a hand in the sequel.
Catwoman also factored into the season finale of The Penguin, with the incarcerated Sofia Falcone receiving a letter from the half-sister she never knew she had.
We'd be very surprised if this plot point wasn't revisited down the line (depending on the uncertain future of the "BatVerse" following the advent of The DCU), but Reeves and co-writer Mat Tomlin clearly felt that there wasn't room to continue Kyle's arc in this movie.
Last night, the news broke that Scarlett Johansson is in final talks for an undisclosed role in The Batman - Part II. Rumor has it that she will play a villain, or possibly a love interest of Bruce Wayne's who is revealed to be a villain.
Though he declined to share any specific plot details, Reeves did confirm that production is scheduled to get underway early next year in a recent interview.
“We’re beginning. We’re staffing up. We’re starting to get our crew back together. We’re getting ready. We’re basically entering [pre-production]. We’ll be making the movie in the spring... super excited,” he told THR.
“Because of what the first movie was and what [The Batman: Part 2] is, which is so much a detective story, the idea of trying to protect the secrets of the movie is super important because it’s a mystery. That would be an extra level of heartbreak if that part of it started getting out. You wanna keep the surprise so the fans... can have the fun experience that I always love going to the movies, which was to go and be surprised.”
Reeves also confirmed that Pattinson has now read the script - which was delivered to him in a highly secure envelope that required a separate code to open - and was very happy with the story, which will seemingly take the iconic DC Comics hero in a direction we have not seen before. “
"He’s Batman, so if he doesn’t like it, not good. So, I was super excited because I thought that he really would [like it] because the things that it does for his character, for Batman, and for [Bruce Wayne] has never been done before in this way. And I had a feeling he would respond in this way, the fact that he did was incredibly encouraging.”