Casting Couch: 10 Catwoman Candidates For Batman 3

Not too long ago, I made the case for Michael C. Hall playing The Riddler in Batman 3. Not only am I certain that Christopher Nolan is going to make the third installment in his Batman trilogy, but I’m also sure he’s going to want to up the ante. To do so, he’s going to once again need more than one villain. Sure, he can cast someone to briefly suit up as the Joker and and play a smaller role while locked up in a straitjacket in an Arkham Asylum padded cell (more on that later). But there’s still room for another of member of that infamous rogues’ gallery. Catwoman, aka Selina Kyle, is the obvious choice.

How do you make Killer Croc come to life? Can you bring a realistic Penguin to the big screen? What about a hyperreal Poision Ivy or Mad Hatter? All of those are going to be tough to pull off, and I’m not sure any of those characters have anywhere near the box audience draw of Catwoman (save maybe the Penguin). Let’s face it; now that we’ve forgotten the corny Halle Berry incarnation of the character, it’s almost a foregone conclusion that Nolan and DC are going to bring Catwoman back to the big screen.

Now that Catwoman is the obvious choice to be the second villain in Batman 3, just who should play the feisty feline?

Angelina Jolie

Is she a distraction? Is she polarizing? The answer could be yes to both. But she’s smokin’ hot, talented, can pull off crazy and it’s believable when she starts kicking ass.

Kate Winslet

While not quite as hot as Jolie, she’s sexy in her own right and arguably the best actress of her generation. Anybody who’s seen Revolutionary Road knows she can turn the intensity up when she needs to. But can she do action?

Marion Cotillard

The French actress has become quite the fan favorite to land the role. While the idea seems fresh, American audiences have yet to see her pull off either action or a villain. Not that I’m betting against her landing the role, especially when she worked with Nolan on Inception.

Penélope Cruz

I wonder how she’d fit with the rest of the cast given her thick accent, but after seeing her timebomb of a performance in Vicky Cristina Barcelona, this is certainly a captivating notion. If anyone’s as good as Winslet, it’s Cruz.

Emily Blunt

She was almost cast in both Iron Man 2 (until Fox screwed her) and Captain America: The First Avenger. What is she holding out for? The rumor mill says she is holding out specifically for this role. She almost replaced Katie Holmes as Rachel Dawes, so you know Nolan likes her.

Chloë Sevigny

She’s probably the most underrated actress in the game, and her and Christian Bale have the exact chemistry (American Psycho) this movie would need to succeed. A dark horse, but I wouldn’t be shocked at all if she were cast as the Cat. One of my favorite picks on this list, box office pull be damned.

Rachel Weisz

There is just something incredible about Rachel Weisz. You can never really put your finger on exactly what that is, but she just has “it.” That’s the same kind of central quality that Catwoman must possess in order for her to get inside Bruce Wayne’s head.

Eva Green

She was just awesome at winning James Bond’s heart and then stabbing him in the back in Casino Royale, a huge picture in its own right, and considering that how could she not be considered here? She also is by no means overexposed (like some of this list) and definitely has “the look.“

Ellen Page

She has a major role in Inception, and if you’ve seen Hard Candy you could definitely see her getting medieval on that Bat ass. She seems young, but so did Heath Ledger when he was cast as the Joker. Consider her  a sleeper. She also has previous superhero experience (X-Men: The Last Stand).

Diane Kruger

If casting the role were up to me, I’d be leaning her way heading into the casting calls. She rocked in Inglorious Basterds, still feels fresh and just looks like a Catwoman. Watch out for Kruger; she just could be the favorite nobody’s talking about.