Zoe Kravitz Will be Catwoman in The Batman

The cast for Matt Reeves The Batman just got even better. Variety reports that Reeves has cast Zoe Kravitz to play Catwoman, one of Gotham’s most intriguing characters, and a sometime antagonist, sometime love interest of Batman himself. The Big Little Lies star had stiff competition for the role; Zazie Beetz (Atlanta, Joker, Deadpool 2), Eliza Gonzalez (Baby Driver) and Oscar-winner Alicia Vikander (The Danish Girl) were all eyeing the role. Ultimately Kravitz won out, even despite some concerns over scheduling issues with her work in the Fantastic Beasts franchise. Kravitz will star opposite Robert Pattinson in the title role in this reboot of DC’s most vaunted property.

Kravitz will be the first woman to depict Catwoman since Anne Hathaway played the master thief in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises in 2012. Halle Berry played the character in the stand-alone Catwoman in 2004. Before her, Michelle Pfeiffer memorably played her in 1992’s Batman Returns. 

While audiences are still reeling from that other infamous Gotham resident’s origin story (and the insane connection between the Joker and Batman posited in Joker), The Batman’s casting will continue to be big news as we approach its release date. Pre-production is set to begin this summer, with principal photography to follow (possibly late this year or early 2020) and a release date scheduled for June 25, 2021.

Reeves has previously stated that he wanted a rogue’s gallery in his film, and Catwoman was long considered a solid option to appear. Now that we know Kravitz has the role, we’re wondering if Catwoman’s going to have a much bigger part to play. We’re still waiting on word to hear if Jonah Hill will be playing the Riddler (or the Penguin, as originally assumed). We know that the great Jeffrey Wright will be Commissioner Gordon.

Kravitz has played tough and resourceful before. She had gravitas aplenty in films including Mad Max: Fury Road, X-Men: First Class and most recently in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. In Big Little Lies, especially season two, she was phenomenal as the haunted Bonnie Carlson. She makes perfect sense to take on the mantle of Catwoman and represents another coup for Reeves in the casting department.

Featured image: ZOË KRAVITZ as Leta Lestrange in Warner Bros. Pictures’ fantasy adventure “FANTASTIC BEASTS: THE CRIMES OF GRINDELWALD,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures