Holy clickbait journalism, Batman! Fresh off The Batman‘s heroic opening weekend grosses, Zoë Kravitz — who plays Selina “Catwoman” Kyle in the Dark Knight’s latest big-screen adventure — is fighting back against the forces of misinformation. In a March 6 profile published in the Observer, the Big Little Lies star said that she had been told she was too “urban” to audition for a role in Christoper Nolan’s trilogy-capping 2012 Batman movie, The Dark Knight Rises.
“Being a woman of color and being an actor and being told at that time that I wasn’t able to read because of the color of my skin, and the word urban being thrown around like that, that was what was really hard about that moment,” Kravitz said in the interview.
Although Kravitz didn’t specify the character she auditioned for, other outlets — including the Daily Mail — suggested it was that film’s version of Catwoman, who ended up being played by Anne Hathaway. The actress took to Instagram Stories to push back against that narrative, which she says is a clear example of “click bait bad journalism.”
“I was not told I was too urban to play Catwoman in The Dark Knight,” Kravitz wrote. “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 … that they were not going ‘urban’ for the part. This is something I heard a lot 10 years ago — it was a very different time.”
As in the Observer profile, the actress makes it clear that her rejection didn’t come Nolan himself, and stresses that she doesn’t believe any of the creative team behind The Dark Knight Rises intended any harm. “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.”
Regardless of what happened in the past, Bat-stans on Twitter are looking forward to Kravitiz’s Gotham City future — especially as a Batman sequel now seems highly likely.
the world wasn’t ready for Zoe kravitz yet for ‘the Dark Knight Rises.’
they made a good choice in waiting because that one in its self was a good Batman. the script was more about Bane’s appearance than anything. Iii think anyway.
— Xayide (@Xayide19) March 8, 2022
Whoever rejected Zoe Kravitz from Dark Knight Rises for being “too urban” must feel very stupid right now
— Hunter | Nerf (@Nerfherder219) March 8, 2022
Just a friendly reminder that Zoe Kravitz didn’t get a role in The Dark Knight Rises because they told her she was “too urban” for the part…now she’s one of the best parts in The Batman
— .john (@yourboy_John) March 8, 2022
The Batman is playing in theaters now
