DC fans were treated to a new take on the Caped Crusader with Matt Reeves’ The Batman, which has been making great money at the box office. In it Zoë Kravitz stars as Selina Kyle/Catwoman, although entering Gotham City via a Batman movie hasn’t always been easy for her. And now Kravitz is clarifying the viral story about her trying to audition for The Dark Knight Rises, and being told she was “too urban.”
The story itself was first shared by Zoë Kravitz years ago, after first landing her role in The Batman. She revealed she was trying to audition for a small role in The Dark Knight Rises, but was told by an unknown person from the studio that they weren’t “going urban” for Christopher Nolan’s threequel. This story went viral this week, leading the Big Little Lies actress to clarify a few things that outlets were getting wrong. As Kravitz began,
I was NOT told I was too urban to play Catwoman in the ‘Dark Knight [Rises]’. It would have made NO sense for me to even be considered for that role at that time. I wanted to AUDITION for a small part in the film and was told (I do not know who said this but this was how it was worded to me) that they were not going ‘urban’ on the part. This is something I heard a lot 10 years ago — it was a very different time.
There you have it. Zoë Kravitz wants to make clear exactly what was going on when The Dark Knight Rises was being cast years ago. She was definitely not in the running to play Catwoman at the time, despite that ultimately being her fate opposite Robert Pattinson. And any reports to the contrary are incorrect.
Zoë Kravitz’s comments come from her personal Instagram story, using her platform of 7.5 million followers to set the record straight on The Dark Knight Rises. While some folks reported that she was auditioning for Catwoman, that wasn’t the case. She also mentions how much the entertainment world has changed in the last decade, specifically for her as a Black woman. Later in the same post, Kravitz went on to say,
I did not mention this to point any fingers or make anyone seem racist, namely Chris Nolan, the film’s producers or anyone on the casting team, because I truly do not believe anyone meant any harm. I was simply giving an example of what it was like to be a woman of color in this industry at that time. Again, this was many years ago when words like that were thrown around very casually and although I’m very glad that we are attempting to evolve — let’s all calm down — as well as fact check before we write things that are untrue.
There you have it. Clearly Zoë Kravitz is a class act, and doesn’t harbor any ill-will toward Christopher Nolan or the folks behind The Dark Knight Rises. In the end she was able to work on a ton of major blockbusters, including X-Men: First Class, Fantastic Beasts 2, and Mad Max: Fury Road. And we all know how she ultimately ended up in Gotham City: with her acclaimed performance as Catwoman in The Batman.
As for which role Zoë Kravitz was attempting to play in The Dark Knight Rises, my educated guess would be the character Jen, who was ultimately played by Ted Lasso star Juno Temple. She was an accomplice of Anne Hathaway’s Catwoman, and appeared in a handful of brief scenes. Kravitz was seemingly the right age at the time, although she wasn’t able to get into the room and actually fight for the gig.
The Batman is in theaters now. Be sure to check out the 2022 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience.
