While there have been plenty of depictions of Batman on the silver screen to pick from, there’s really only ever been one cinematic Catwoman who captured the world’s imagination. It turns out that at one point in time, Warner Bros. considered giving her a solo movie.
For the past few days, Twitter users have been sharing stories about their past professional rejections with the hashtag #ShareYourRejections, and writer John August (Big Fish, Corpse Bride) got in on the fun with a story about a pitch for a Catwoman solo movie that would have been a sequel to Batman Returns, starring Michelle Pfeiffer.
Sounds logical on the surface, right? Pfeiffer absolutely knocked the role out of the park. But producers at Warner Bros. had a different idea.
August said they were initially excited by his pitch for the movie, before suggesting that Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s Sarah Michelle Gellar should play Catwoman instead and that there should be a scene in which she… washed her hair?
UPDATE: I found my old pitch and I actually still love it. Dated January 13, 1999. Also, I used to be a double-spacer. pic.twitter.com/mMngeQ2XCt
— John August (@johnaugust) August 16, 2018
The producer’s thoughts aside, August’s film sounds really interesting. It would have caught up with Selina Kyle back in her old ways, slinking around Gotham City and taking what she wants before a run-in with a low-level criminal leaves her with no memory of her life as Catwoman.
Batman makes an appearance too, but the movie would have focused mainly on Selina’s life back in Lake City (with Chicago serving as the shooting location) where she gradually recovers and, one presumes, eventually finds herself back in the patent leather catsuit.
A few more paragraphs. #catwoman #shareyourejections pic.twitter.com/Q0gG8CjfMX
— John August (@johnaugust) August 16, 2018
Last chunk for now. This would be about page 10 of the script, had I written it. #catwoman #ShareYourRejections pic.twitter.com/Nfq0Czj8Go
— John August (@johnaugust) August 16, 2018
It’s wild to think that, in some alternate universe, Catwoman (no, not that one) is a cult classic that made clear how eager audiences were to see a female superhero on the big screen all the way back in the ‘90s.
Perhaps, if we’re lucky, a Catwoman movie like this might actually end up being made if Warner Bros.’ upcoming Birds of Prey film is a success.