Catty Remarks

So, today the announcement came that Anne Hathaway is going to play Selina Kyle (aka Catwoman) in the next Batman movie.

And, I must confess that I'm skeptical.

This skepticism isn't solely based on bias. Julie Newmar was the greatest Catwoman of all time. No one else can compare. She's like Sean Connery as James Bond: other actor can portray 007, but he will always be the measuring stick for every agent with a licence to kill.

And it will always be Newmar that all other comic book femme fatales will be measured against.

But, setting aside that agreed upon fact / bias...

The big question: can Anne Hathaway play dangerous, deadly and sexy?

No one is sure what kind of part Selina will play in the movie, but considering that director Christopher Nolan has said that this will be his final Batman movie, it's unlikely that the character is merely being established for a future film (like Black Widow was set up in Iron Man 2.) She ain't gonna be window dressing. She is going to have to be menacing and exciting and captivating.

Hathaway is usually cast as the romantic lead or as the safe and somewhat bland girl friend type character (for instance, Agent 99 in the Get Smart movie). I could see Emma Stone in the role or Susan Sarandon, but neither of them would look age appropriate opposite Christian Bale's Batman. But using those two actresses as a start point, it still makes Hathaway an unlikely choice.

But points have to be awarded to Nolan for not going with the obvious choice: the dangerous, deadly and sexy Angelina Jolie. Her recent resume of Wanted, Salt and the semi-nude, semi-animated monster mother in Beowulf made her the ideal candidate but it would have been a very, very expected choice. It's almost as if the past five years, from Mr. and Mrs. Smith to The Tourist, have been an on-going audition for the part of Catwoman. But Selina Kyle is a role that Jolie could have sleepwalked (catwalked?) through. She would have been the safe choice; for Hathaway, it will be a role that she will have to stretch into.

Many years ago the casting of Michael Keaton as Batman was a source of much derision (can you imagine the thunderous noise that would have erupted had Keaton been cast in an age when the internet existed?) and he turned out to be an excellent choice for Tim Burton's take on the character. Perhaps Hathaway will prove to be the same for Nolan. But she has her work cut out for her.

And the news that almost gets eclipsed by the casting of Hathway: Bane as the other villain. A villain who is best known for being muscular and breaking Batman's back in the comic book.

Wow.

People were expecting The Riddler or Hugo Strange. Bane might prove to be an interesting choice because Nolan can create a rich background for him, but nevertheless... Bane? -- Wow.

Between Bane and the casting of Hathaway, this is not going to be the film that anyone was expecting. And who knows, that might turn out to be a very, very good thing.