The Batman has finally given fans a closer look at Zoë Kravitz’s Catwoman. The film’s latest trailer, “The Bat and the Cat,” explores a burgeoning partnership between Selina Kyle and Bruce Wayne through their respective alter egos. Catwoman has been many things in many iterations of Batman, and in director Matt Reeves’ version, she’ll be something of an ally to the Dark Knight as he takes on The Riddler. The new trailer works to establish the beginnings of the Bat and the Cat’s hot-and-cold relationship, but it also connects the new Catwoman to one from a previous Batman film.

One scene in the trailer shows Batman attempting to stop Selina from a potentially-reckless decision. He tells her not to throw her life away, and her response, as always, is a pitch-perfect quip: “Don’t worry, honey. I have nine of them.” The allusion to cats and their alleged nine lives has always been a fun parallel to draw with Selina, one most famously used with Michelle Pfeiffer in Tim Burton’s Batman Returns. How much of that same supernatural influence, if any, will show up in The Batman?

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Pfeiffer’s take on Catwoman was larger than life by most standards, mostly because she seemed to believe she was more feline than human. Selina mentioned her limited immortality throughout Batman Returns, usually after an attempt on her life had been made. The film never fully confirms whether Selina actually does have nine lives, but Burton later attributed the continuous reference to Catwoman’s “ambiguous nature.” In Batman Returns’ audio commentary, the director denied any supernatural influence in Pfeiffer’s Catwoman at all. Instead, Selina’s “use” of her nine lives is more an example of her deluded mental state.

Zoë Kravitz as Selina Kyle/Catwoman

It’s entirely likely that the “nine lives” comment in The Batman trailer is a cheeky wink to Selina’s more feline virtues than an overt reference to anything superhuman. However, it could still allude to her twisted mental state. Kravitz’s Catwoman seems a bit cooler and collected than Pfeiffer’s, but that doesn’t mean that she’s completely sane. “The Bat and the Cat” shows a kookier side to Selina than has previously been seen in The Batman teasers. In another scene, she invites a masked Bruce to her apartment, which is crawling with cats. Selina is even drinking a glass of milk -- a trope that has been used in many versions of Catwoman.

Though it’s subtle in The Batman, it seems this new take on Selina is just as offbeat as those that came before. She has to fit into the world that Matt Reeves has built, one that leans even further from fantasy than any other Batman film. As a result, she may not be as removed from reality as Pfeiffer’s Selina. However, she does share some of Bruce Wayne’s deluded sensibilities. Selina and Bruce both believe that the only way to create change in Gotham is to personally get involved. That’s never been the sanest course of action. So even if there is no supernatural element to The Batman, Selina’s delusion will surely manifest in other ways.

To see Zoë Kravitz’s Catwoman in action, The Batman hits theaters on March 4, 2022. 

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