Batman Returns Perfect Catwoman Casting Almost Never Happened

Batman Returns’ Perfect Catwoman Casting Almost Never Happened

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Many people consider Michelle Pfeiffer in Tim Burton’s Batman Returns to be the definitive screen version of Catwoman, but she almost wasn’t cast.

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Batman Returns Perfect Catwoman Casting Almost Never Happened

Many people consider Michelle Pfeiffer in Tim Burton’s Batman Returns to be the definitive screen version of Catwoman, but she almost wasn’t cast. A permanent fixture in both Batman’s rogues’ gallery and his heart, Catwoman has so far been played by seven different actresses in the live-action realm. That number will climb to eight in 2021 when Zoe Kravitz slashes her way into the role for director Matt Reeves’ The Batman. Known for committing the purrfect crimes, Selina Kyle is a truly iconic member of the DC canon.

Unlike the three different Catwomen inhabiting the 1966 Batman TV show – and its accompanying movie – Pfeiffer’s Catwoman had a much darker edge, an aspect that has influenced most portrayals of the character since in some form. Pfeiffer’s Selina, thanks to an odd plot turn, was also seemingly a zombie, dying after being pushed out a window by Max Schreck and somehow being licked back to life by cats on the ground below. It’s extremely weird, but it somehow works in the context of the film.

Pfeiffer has been quite gracious since the announcement of Kravitz taking over the role she’s perhaps marked forever, offering both her support and advice, albeit sometimes of the tongue-in-cheek variety. However, what some fans may not know is that Pfeiffer wasn’t the first choice to play Catwoman, and the film almost began filming without her on set.

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Batman Returns’ Perfect Catwoman Casting Almost Never Happened

Before Pfeiffer even came into the picture, Tim Burton had already cast Annette Bening as Catwoman/Selina Kyle. This choice was made based on the strength of her performance in the acclaimed neo-noir crime thriller The Grifters, opposite John Cusack and Angelica Huston. When she learned Batman Returns was being made, Michelle Pfeiffer, a huge Catwoman fan, got excited, but that excitement deflated when she found out the role was already cast. Then, fate stepped in, in the form of Bening and husband Warren Beatty conceiving a child. Unable to perform the physically demanding role while pregnant, Bening bowed out.

The story actually doesn’t end there though, thanks to the strange actions of Blade Runner star Sean Young. Young, who had originally been cast as Vicki Vale in Batman 1989 before an injury took her out of the part, felt she should be Batman Returns’ new Catwoman, and went as far as flying to Los Angeles and personally lobbying Warner Bros. executives for the role. To top it off, she did that whole wearing a homemade Catwoman costume. Needless to say, Warner Bros. didn’t call her agent, they called security, and Pfieffer was subsequently hired. Young later pushed for the gig on The Joan Rivers Show, again in costume.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/batman-returns-catwoman-casting-michelle-pfeiffer-annette-bening-sean-young/

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