The Catwoman/Selina Kyle Casting Thread - Part 2

[TMP98]

Tessa Thompson would be good too I think, but I’m not sure how much Valkyrie in the MCU will affect her chances...

MiB certainly might!

 

[Kadiru]

Latina Selina? Perhaps Melissa Barrera from the TV series Vida who's also soon going to star in a musical alongside Jamie Dornan.

 

[David H.]

Tessa Thompson would be good too I think, but I’m not sure how much Valkyrie in the MCU will affect her chances...

We all know Marvel ain’t making a Valkyrie movie any time soon

MiB certainly might!

Industry double standards.

 

[thebatfan5194]

Latina Selina has to be Ana De Armas in my opinion,

 

[ArmsHeldOut]

Latina Selina has to be Ana De Armas in my opinion,

de Armas is one of my favorites for the role, but honestly it's brown Latinas (specifically those born of intermixture with Mesoamerican or "Indian" cultures like the actress above) who could stand to benefit from more Hollywood exposure. If Reeves and WB are truly looking to be more inclusive w/ the casting this time around, all variations should be considered--not just the Emilio Estevez/Charlie Sheen types.

 

[ArmsHeldOut]

Latina Selina? Perhaps Melissa Barrera from the TV series Vida who's also soon going to star in a musical alongside Jamie Dornan.

Google tells me this girl is 28. I would not have suspected that otherwise.

 

[ileg01]

They should cast Úrsula Corberó from la Casa de Papel as Catwoman she’s amazing, definitely looks the part and her character in that show always reminded me of a Catwoman that’s a little more unhinged.

 

[C Prometheus]

Ultimately it comes down to whoever is best for the role. And there are many white actresses that would be perfect for Selina (Dakota Johnson, Riley Keough, and Jodie Comer are my favorites) but for some reason, I strongly want a black Catwoman this time around.

I mean, Eartha Kitt played her in the 60s, Halle Berry in the 00s, and then we had the LEGO Batman movie which also depicted a black Catwoman. I just think the time is right for another black Catwoman, and this role provides such an incredible opportunity to showcase diverse talent. I honestly want a really diverse cast this time around. There are so many Batman characters that could be racebent and there’s already a precedent for a lot of them. These are such iconic characters for the most part, and they really lend themselves to different interpretations.

Oddly enough, I actually want a black Gordon way more than I do a black Catwoman. I'm certainly not opposed to the idea and I think you've done a good job bringing up several reasons why it'd be a nice choice to make here, but I feel like Selina has sort of developed into the go-to answer for "Hey, let's race-bend a famous Batman character to show more diversity" and I worry that runs the risk of becoming counter-productive in the long run by turning her into an easy scapegoat for Hollywood to point to when trying appease people.

A black Gordon, a black Riddler and a black Poison Ivy would all be amazing to see on the big screen. Or heck, maybe Ivy could have some sort of Asian descent?

 

[Nemeres]

Whichever ethnicity they cast, my choice for hair: pixie cut all the way.

 

[Invader Joker]

Oddly enough, I actually want a black Gordon way more than I do a black Catwoman. I'm certainly not opposed to the idea and I think you've done a good job bringing up several reasons why it'd be a nice choice to make here, but I feel like Selina has sort of developed into the go-to answer for "Hey, let's race-bend a famous Batman character to show more diversity" and I worry that runs the risk of becoming counter-productive in the long run by turning her into an easy scapegoat for Hollywood to point to when trying appease people.

A black Gordon, a black Riddler and a black Poison Ivy would all be amazing to see on the big screen. Or heck, maybe Ivy could have some sort of Asian descent?

Eh... I really don't see how turning literally the most iconic Batman female character into latina or black is counter productive to diversity. She's way more significant than Gordon, Riddler or Ivy.

 

[David H.]

I mean, Eartha Kitt, dude.

 

[Invader Joker]

I gotta say tho, Julie Newmar was still the best Catwoman from the 60s. In fact she was the best Catwoman period. I genuinely think she's really hard to top even nowadays. But if they find a latina or black woman able to do that..

 

[C Prometheus]

I still stand by my previous "Start with long haired Selina, work to Pixie Cut Selina over the course of the trilogy" stance. Especially if Reeves is drawing a lot of influence from Jeph Loeb's The Long Halloween and Dark Victory.

Eh... I really don't see how turning literally the most iconic Batman female character into latina or black is counter productive to diversity. She's way more significant than Gordon, Riddler or Ivy.

I mean, Eartha Kitt, dude.

Which is kind of the problem. Because essentially Selina runs the risk of the conversation turning into "Well, she's one of the main leads and she's black here, right? Shouldn't that be enough for you?"

And the answer here is "No, it shouldn't be enough. One POC character in a film trilogy as massive as this should never be enough."

If we're talking about legitimately trying to cast an ethnically diverse Batman cast across the board, Selina shouldn't be where that starts IMO, because she's the easy mode option that I fear would allow for a lot of Hollywood executives to point to and say, "Well our job here is done!" rather than continuing to cast in a more diverse manner.

Again I am not opposed to the idea of Selina being played by a woman of color. We've got plenty of reasons for why she should be and if it happens, I certainly won't complain. My problem is that we should be talking about casting more diversely beyond just Selina.

 

[Invader Joker]

Eh.


When we get into specifics like that, and I don't mean to sound disrespectful but for me that's just "Whatever" territory. Catwoman is iconic as hell. If she's a latina then I don't care even if she's the only latina in the movie because again, shes THAT iconic.

 

[C Prometheus]

Eh.

When we get into specifics like that, and I don't mean to sound disrespectful but for me that's just "Whatever" territory. Catwoman is iconic as hell. If she's a latina then I don't care even if she's the only latina in the movie because again, shes THAT iconic.

And this is exactly the embodiment of that lax "Shouldn't she be enough?" concern I'm talking about.

I love Catwoman. She's one of my favorite characters in the world of Batman and her importance in it is obvious at this point. If we see a woman of color cast in the role, be she Latina, Hispanic, Black or Asian, I'll cheer and support whoever lands the role.

But this attitude is exactly why my concern of any "Let's get a more ethnically diverse Batman cast" movement stopping with Selina exists right now. Whereas if we cast someone like Jeffrey Wright, Sterling K. Brown or Mahershala Ali as Commissioner Gordon... well, suddenly now we have to cast people of color for Barbara Gordon/Batgirl and Jim Gordon Jr too. Which is great, because that means more POC actors are getting work across the board.

Does Ivy have to be white? No, not really. Same goes for Riddler or Joker, although the latter obviously has to have the makeup on.

 

[Invader Joker]

I still fail to see the problem. Maybe because that's an exaggeratedly american issue.

 

[C Prometheus]

I still fail to see the problem. Maybe because that's an exaggeratedly american issue.

Yeah, that's probably why.

And again, there are plenty of great candidates for Selina out there in the Latina, Hispanic and Black communities and I'd be psyched if someone like Gugu Mbatha-Raw or Ana de Armas gets the job. I just feel like if we're talking about getting a more diverse cast, that mentality has to extend beyond Selina and into other characters in the Batman lore.

 

[Invader Joker]

You probably shouldn't get too pumped for Gugu though. She's way outside the age range.

 

[ArmsHeldOut]

@C Prometheus Still sticking with Kirby and de Armas, or have you been considering any new actresses of late?

 

[C Prometheus]

@C Prometheus Still sticking with Kirby and de Armas, or have you been considering any new actresses of late?

My top four are still Jodie Comer, Vanessa Kirby, Dakota Johnson and Ana de Armas.

 

[Marvel united]

Prometheus is definitely right here. Selina shouldn't be where the conversation for more diversity hits a dead end

 

[ArmsHeldOut]

My top four are still Jodie Comer, Vanessa Kirby, Dakota Johnson and Ana de Armas.

It's strange. For the last couple of years, I couldn't see anyone but Emily Blunt in the role. Now it's 2019 and she isn't even on my shortlist, a handful of names I find myself revising on a near weekly basis! lol

Anyway, here are my top seven in no particular order.

Gaite Jansen (I still get the sense that WB's gonna go with a familiar face when all is said and done, but whatever.)
Dakota Johnson
Ana de Armas
Emma Stone
Aubrey Plaza
Vanessa Kirby
Naomi Scott

For those who care about this sort of thing, that's one actress of non-white Hispanic and white parentage (Plaza's father is Puerto Rican; her mother's of Irish-English descent), four white actresses (Jansen, Johnson, Kirby and Stone, one white Hispanic (de Armas), and one actress of Indian and white parentage (Scott).

 

[Black Narcissus]

Ana de Armas
Gugu
Matilda Lutz
Vanessa Kirby
Nathalie Emmanuel
Naomi Scott
Eiza Gonzalez
Emily Blunt
Rebecca Ferguson
Gemma Arteton
Dakota Johnson

 

[C Prometheus]

It's strange. For the last couple of years, I couldn't see anyone but Emily Blunt in the role. Now it's 2019 and she isn't even on my shortlist, a handful of names I find myself revising on a near weekly basis! lol

Anyway, here are my top seven in no particular order.

Gaite Jansen (I still get the sense that WB's gonna go with a familiar face when all is said and done, but whatever.)
Dakota Johnson
Ana de Armas
Emma Stone
Aubrey Plaza
Vanessa Kirby
Naomi Scott

For those who care about this sort of thing, that's one actress of non-white Hispanic and white parentage (Plaza's father is Puerto Rican; her mother's of Irish-English descent), four white actresses (Jansen, Johnson, Kirby and Stone, one white Hispanic (de Armas), and one actress of Indian and white parentage (Scott).

Yup, I dig all of these names too. Although I really doubt Aubrey Plaza would get the part at this point.

I will say that, in a vacuum, Zoe Kravitz is still a great pick too. I'm not sure how well she'd pair off with Pattinson or not, but she's certainly a capable choice for the role too.

 

[Deck Rickard]

I don’t think Dakota Johnson has the presence for Selina. She’s an okay actress but Catwoman needs to be a scene stealer and I’ve yet to see Dakota really stand out in anything.