Zoë Kravitz Reveals How She Prepared to Become Catwoman for ‘The Batman’
Zoë Kravitz leaps, flips and kicks into action as Catwoman alongside Robert Pattinson in a new trailer for The Batman.
We first found out that she was playing Selina Kyle — you may be more familiar with Kyle's feline alter ego Catwoman — against Pattinson's Dark Knight in 2019. More than two years later, the film is set to premiere in theaters March 4, 2022, and we're finally getting to see the star in action.
Catwoman and her relationship with Batman play a sizable role in a newly released trailer. Aptly titled "The Bat and The Cat," the teaser introduces Kravitz's character and showcases her slick fighting style.
Get better acquainted with her turn at portraying the well-loved anti-hero by pressing play below:
We'll be waiting (semi-)patiently for a few more months to see exactly how Kravitz takes on the role, which has previously been played onscreen by the likes of Michelle Pfeiffer, Halle Berry and Anne Hathaway.
Thankfully, the actor recently spilled some tea about how she prepared to embody the iconic femme fatale. It should help tide us over while we wait.
She started by telling Empire that she got ready for fight scenes by watching some of nature's most dangerous predators in action.
“We watched cats and lions and how they fight," she said. Kravitz added that the team considered how she could hold her own against the larger Batman. "What is my skill," she asked. "It’s being fast and tricky. So we did some really interesting floor work that incorporated different kinds of martial arts and capoeira and a kind of feline, dance-like movement.”
Kravitz added that the movie was an "origin story" for Catwoman and teased that we'd be able to see her grow during it. "I think we are watching her become what I’m sure will be the femme fatale."
The star shared even more insight during an interview with BuzzFeed.
Regarding Catwoman's fighting style, Kravitz said she spent a lot of time learning how to kick.
"Being able to kick gracefully and remain balanced, while maintaining the proper form and having it all look good on camera — that was definitely the biggest thing," she said. Kravitz also went through gun training for the role.
Pattinson surely took on an extensive training program of his own to play the caped crusader. However, he likely didn't have to worry about breaking a nail during his sessions.
Speaking of nails, you may have noticed that Catwoman is rocking claw-like talons in the trailer. Kravitz told BuzzFeed that was her idea.
"The nails weren't originally planned," she explained. "We shot two months before quarantine and everything shut down, so in that time, I started to grow my nails out because we couldn't get manicures and then I had this idea to take it further...so I called Matt [Reeves, the movie's director] and was like, I have this idea, we should do crazy, b---hy, wonderful scary nails that looked like claws. No nail polish on them, so they looked more like claws, and we were able to incorporate it last minute."
Kravitz also opened up about how she had been welcomed into the ranks of stars who have embodied Kyle in the past.
"All of the Catwomen have been extremely nice and supportive and welcoming of me stepping into these big shoes," she enthused.