‘Scat, Darn Catwoman’ was the title of an episode of the old 1960s ‘Batman’ series and it looks like it might be Warner Brothers’ plan moving forward as DC’s feline femme fatale is not present in the script for ‘Birds of Prey’. After Margot Robbie‘s scene-stealing turn as Harley Quinn in ‘Suicide Squad’, WB moved forward developing a number of potential projects that would allow her to reprise that role including a solo movie, ‘Gotham City Sirens’ and ‘Birds of Prey’. At this point, ‘Birds of Prey’ appears to be the closest to potentially becoming a reality, with a script by Christina Hodson, which impressed the brass enough that they also entrusted her to tackle the screenplay for ‘Batgirl’ and director Cathy Yan (‘Dead Pigs’) apparently attached.
The only characters that are reportedly confirmed to appear in ‘Birds of Prey’ are Harley Quinn and Batgirl. Various characters have rotated in and out of the ‘Birds’ comic book, but beside Batgirl/Barbara Gordon, the two most closely identified with the team are Black Canary and The Huntress. So it was never really a given that Catwoman would be included, but many figured WB would take advantage of the opportunity to include one of their most famous villains and many were hoping to see an all-female hero team taking on an all-female villain group.
This news comes via Umberto Gonzales, who often has reliable intel when it comes to DC projects, which he shared on Twitter:
RUMOR KILLER
No, that dumb 4chan rumor is so not true. Léa Seydoux is not in early talks nor on some shortlist for either BLACK CANARY or CATWOMAN in BIRDS OF PREY. In fact, CATWOMAN is NOT even in the movie!— Umberto Gonzalez (@elmayimbe) May 24, 2018
It’s possible that Harley will be the only villain in ‘Birds of Prey’, but Robbie has stressed that she wants to see her character working with “her girls.” Poison Ivy has often been paired with her, so she has a good shot at appearing.
It’s possible that WB is holding Catwoman to be used in an upcoming ‘Batman’ movie or they may be letting her rest while they focus on Kristen Wiig’s Cheetah, another feline villain, in ‘Wonder Woman 2’. Catwoman has been adapted to the big screen more times than many other DC villains, going all the way back to 1967, when Lee Meriwether played her in the first ‘Batman’ movie. In more recent times, Michelle Pfeifer, Halle Berry and Anne Hatheway have also played versions of this character in movies. It’s possible that WB wants to focus on villains that haven’t been so heavily used in films.
At this point, this is just a rumor, but Catwoman’s presence in ‘Birds of Prey’ was just speculation to begin with. Would you like to see a new Catwoman in the DC Expanded Universe?
