DC Agrees: Michelle Pfeiffer is Still the Ultimate Catwoman
So what will DC do when they're tasked to cast a new one in 'Gotham City Sirens'?
DC Entertainment shocked their readers when, in Batman #24, the publisher had its most popular character, Batman, sink to his knee and finally propose to Selina Kyle, aka Catwoman. At San Diego Comic Con, writer Tom King and his new artist partner Joelle Jones reflected on the instantly iconic splash page and hinted about where the storyline will go. While discussing Batman’s maybe-fiancee, King and Jones agreed excitedly that Michelle Pfeiffer was still their ideal cinematic Catwoman, although there have been many.
Michelle Pfeiffer starred as Catwoman in Tim Burton’s 1992 film Batman Returns. The role was played in 2004 by Halle Berry, and again by Anne Hathaway in The Dark Knight Rises (2012). Julie Newmar played the character in the 1960s Batman TV series, though she was replaced by Lee Meriwether in the film adaptation of the series due to scheduling conflicts. On NBC’s Gotham, Camren Bicondova plays a young Selina, and Adrienne Barbeau voiced Catwoman in Batman: The Animated Series and later projects throughout the 90s. When it was announced that Harley Quinn’s “solo” movie was actually titled Gotham City Sirens, fans and critics alike were curious to see who would play Catwoman in yet another DC film adaptation. In February, rumors circulated around Haley Bennett, but nothing was confirmed.
Michelle Pfeiffer seems like the obvious choice for the enduring and most classic Selina Kyle on film, though admittedly Anne Hathaway received critical praise for her performance. In 1992, New York Times film critic Janet Maslin wrote, “Selina metamorphoses thrillingly into Catwoman, in a sequence that ranks with the most captivating moments Ms. Pfeiffer has spent on screen. Fully inhabiting this vixenish character, she turns Catwoman into a fierce, seductive embodiment of her earlier dissatisfaction.”
When describing Pfeiffer’s electric on-screen presence, artist Jones even admitted that Batman Returns was still her favorite Batman movie, to which Tom King said, “Really? Even with all that…Penguin stuff?” Both laughed, and King added, “Okay, we can talk about this later.”
Gotham City Sirens does not currently have a release date set, though you can stream Batman Returns (with all that Penguin stuff) for free on HBO Go, or for a small fee on Amazon.
