She stuns as Catwoman in The Batman, but this wasn’t the first time Zoe Kravitz was being considered for the famed franchise. We have been receiving Batman films since the 1960s and there have been hundreds of characters—and actors—that have taken to the silver screen. Kravitz has managed to add her name to the list of stars who have tackled the role of Selina Kyle, but her hopes of being included in a Batman flick go back to 2012.
The Dark Knight Rises took over the film world a decade ago and it was a film that Kravitz was in the running to star in. However, she told The Guardian that at the time, she was distinctly told that she was too “urban” for production’s vision.
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The actress made sure not to place blame on the film’s award-winning director.
“I don’t know if it came directly from Chris Nolan,” said Kravitz. “I think it was probably a casting director of some kind, or a casting director’s assistant… Being a woman of colour and being an actor and being told at that time that I wasn’t able to read because of the colour of my skin, and the word urban being thrown around like that, that was what was really hard about that moment.”
With parents like Lenny Kravitz and Lisa Bonet, one would think that Zoe would have had plenty of discussions regarding racism or what she should expect. However, Kravitz revealed that prior to pursuing her career, she wasn’t given much guidance as to how to approach racism in entertainment.
“They never warned me or anything. I think they were more focused on trying to make sure I understood that despite the colour of my skin I should be able to act or dress or do whatever it is I want to do,” said Kravitz. “At one point all the scripts that were being sent were about the first Black woman to make a muffin or something. Even though those stories are important to tell, I also want to open things up for myself as an artist.”
Check out the trailer for The Batman below.
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