Spider-Man 4 has become something of a Holy Grail for superhero movie fans, especially those obsessed with the original cinematic Webslinger. This movie was never made due to a variety of factors, making the sting of its disappointing predecessor even harder to bear. Perhaps the worst part is that the movie did have quite a few gears turning already, and that included the casting.
Anne Hathaway would later go on to play Selina Kyle/Catwoman in The Dark Knight Rises, but before sharing the screen with Christian Bale's Batman, she was poised to play Felicia Hardy/Black Cat in Spider-Man 4. This only shows how far into production the movie got, as well as how serendipitous Hathaway's other superhero casting was.
Anne Hathaway's Role In Spider-Man 4, Explained
As mentioned, many Spidey fans were soured on Spider-Man 3, with the rushed nature of its story and its current status as the last solo movie for Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man being a letdown after how great the second film was. However, there were hopes for redemption, as Sam Raimi had plans for one last entry in the series.
There were a lot of ideas for this tentative fourth film, one of which would've involved Felicia Hardy, if not her alter ego: the Black Cat. Leading the charge in auditioning for this role was none other than Anne Hathaway, who Raimi claimed impressed him with her auditions. At the time, she was known most for her roles in Disney's The Princess Diaries movies, the second of which has a cameo from Stan Lee. Sadly, with Spider-Man 4 canned and the franchise rebooted with the Amazing Spider-Man movies, Hathaway said "Bye, Felicia!" before taking on another feline role.
How Spider-Man 4 Foreshadowed The Dark Knight Rises
The same summer that the Spider-Man reboot series released its first movie in 2012, the world also got to watch The Dark Knight Rises. This final entry in the Christopher Nolan Batman movies starring Christian Bale also introduced Selina Kyle, played by Anne Hathaway. Given that they're both cat-themed thieves who act as femme fatales, the similarities between Black Cat and Catwoman are obvious. It's likely that the energy Hathaway brought to the role of Selina Kyle was what she was also going for in the Black Cat auditions for Spider-Man 4.
Sadly, fans will never know quite how that would've turned out, with another solo Raimi Spider-Man movie a pipe dream of the highest order. If the fourth movie would've been made, however, it's possible that Hathaway wouldn't have been Catwoman, thus robbing The Dark Knight Rises of one of its best elements. In either version of history, it's obvious that one way or another, Anne Hathaway was always going to be the cat's meow in a big budget superhero movie.