Princess Mia is about to don a cat suit.
Director Christopher Nolan recently announced Anne Hathaway would play Catwoman in his third Batman film, “The Dark Knight Rises.” The “Princess Diaries” actress will follow in the paw prints of five other actresses who have threatened Gotham before her.
I was extremely surprised at Nolan’s villain choice. 2004’s “Catwoman,” starring Halle Berry, turned a once purrfect villainess into a seemingly untouchable joke.
Then again, few directors wanted to touch the Joker after Jack Nicholson mastered the role in 1989 — yet Nolan brought us a Joker that we had never seen before and would, sadly, never see again.
Nolan’s got a lot to work with — for 50 years, Catwomen have terrorized both the large and small screens.
It all started with Julie Newmar and her role on the cult 1960s TV show, with Adam West and Burt Ward. She was the sexy American redhead, decked out in black, with a touch of sparkle. She tried to seduce Batman quite often, but elegantly never shed a single piece of her full-body suit.
Eartha Kitt then became the feline fiend, adding her exoticness to be less of a seductress and more of a striking adversary, with better tools and more bling. She kept the puns rolling too, which made the already campy show delightfully cheesier.
When the 1966 Batman film came out, America was introduced to my favorite dastardly cat, Lee Meriwether. She was not only a great villainess, but also a sexy Russian journalist, who succeeded in seducing Bruce Wayne. Her speech pattern was my favorite — while Kitt rolled every R she could, Meriwether used her cat lingo sparingly.
Michelle Pfieffer made Catwoman a far more sex-driven feline in Tim Burton’s 1992 “Batman Returns.” I didn’t like the new suit she donned, which hissed dominatrix with its vinyl, stitched-together skin appearance, but she was one of the first Catwomen to physically fight, rather than let cronies take down Batman. These were no ordinary catfights; she actually had claws.
Which leads us to Halle Berry, who walked away with a Raspberry award for Worst Lead Actress. In fact, “Catwoman” won five of its seven Razzie nominations, including Worst Film of 2004. Only George W. Bush could beat it as Worst Lead Actor for “Fahrenheit 9/11.”
Berry’s Catwoman didn’t live in Batman’s world, or even the DC universe. Her alter ego, Patience Phillips, was different from the original Selina Kyle, and she was a protagonist, instead of villainess. Berry’s body, plus a costume of pleather and chains, equaled the ultimate film for those looking for eye candy without a plot. I have full faith in Nolan’s ability to bring his viewers a realistic look at Catwoman, much like he did with the Joker. I’ve heard and read many suggestions that Megan Fox would be better, but Anne Hathaway has classiness that emanates the 1960s felines. I can’t wait to see her kick some bat butt, like Pfeiffer. I think Fox would just be another Berry, and no one wants that, especially Nolan.