‘The Batman’: Catwoman Zoe Kravitz, Robert Pattinson dueled on Day 1

zoë kravitz has come a long way with her martial arts moves, from breaking boards when she was 7 years old to trying to smash robert pattinson’s face.

In the superhero movie “The Batman” (now in theaters), Kravitz stars as Selina Kyle (aka Catwoman) opposite Pattinson as the Dark Knight of Gotham City. In the film from director Matt Reeves, Bruce Wayne is in his second year trying to clean up crime in her corrupt hometown, and Selina isn’t yet what we all know as the iconic “Catwoman,” though she does have plenty of feline companions. . hanging around her apartment.

One line sums up everything Kravitz needed to know about Selina: When Batman drops by and becomes the obvious Captain, noting that she has a lot of cats, Selina purrs, “Yeah, I have a thing for strays.”

review: robert pattinson stars as a brooding, muscular dark knight for a new era in ‘the batman’

“I really wanted to get into the psychology of what that meant versus just having the cats because she’s Catwoman,” Kravitz says. “Learning about her history and where she comes from and her feeling like a stray herself and really wanting to pay it forward and take other strays in, whether they be actual cats or people, that’s really her life’s mission.”

When she’s not being a cat thief, Selina is working as a waitress at the Iceberg Lounge Club, run by The Penguin (Colin Farrell), a lieutenant to mob boss Carmine Falcone (John Turturro), when she strikes up a friendship with bat Man. She wants his help finding a friend who has gone missing, he needs help locating the riddled serial killer (Paul Dano), and their cat-and-mouse dynamic finds them growing closer as each is on a mission in seeking justice for the past.

Your initial encounter, however, is a takedown at the mayor’s mansion. “It was interesting having to establish our relationship without a lot of words,” Kravitz says of the fight scene on his first day on set.

‘can’t edit myself’:channing tatum on directing ‘dog’, ‘magic mike 3’ and zoë kravitz

“To do flirtation whilst simultaneously being kicked in the head. That’s a relationship!” her co-star Pattinson exclaims.

“and steal sweating everywhere. that was sexy, i loved it,” she deadpans, rolling her eyes playfully.

But that scene also offered a pinch-me moment for Kravitz: “I’m catwoman and we’re on set and it’s in the movie and you can’t stop me now!”

Kravitz co-star Jeffrey Wright, who plays Gotham cop Jim Gordon, says he’s “amazing” in the role and brings “a kind of mercurial energy around him that’s very appropriate, very feline for this.” she has a danger around her, and a mystery.”

kravitz, the daughter of lenny kravitz and lisa bonet, grew up a fan of catwoman and dabbled in taekwondo. (Fun fact: Robert Alonzo, supervising stunt coordinator on “The Batman,” was her instructor.) She was she good she in her day? “Not very well,” she says. “She could break a board. I remember doing that and thinking she was cool.”

She was first exposed to Eartha Kitt’s Catwoman from the 1960s TV series “Batman” and recalls that she was “obviously just drawn to seeing a black woman on that kind of show.” My grandmother used to talk about her. And when she was a little older, Kravitz appreciated Michelle Pfeiffer’s “cool performance” as Catwoman in 1992’s “Batman Returns.”

The 10 most unmissable movies of 2022: from ‘the batman’ to ‘top gun: maverick’

This isn’t even Kravitz’s first rodeo as the character: She played an animated Catwoman in 2017’s “The Lego Batman Movie.” (Her big line: “Meow-meow, we’re in, meow-meow!”) But she acknowledges it’s “a really big responsibility” to take on a live-action role inhabited by everyone from Julie Newmar to Anne Hathaway.

“It’s very rare that you get to play a character that really brings out your inner child,” says kravitz. she has a selina action figure on display at her house and loves seeing herself on the “batman” posters. “People come up to me and she says, “That’s catwoman. Isn’t she crazy? I’m like, ‘yeah. she is very crazy.’ I don’t know if I’ll ever get comfortable with the fact that this is reality.”

‘It Was Terrifying’: ‘Batman’ Star Robert Pattinson Hugs Superhero Who Is ‘A Mess’

Instead of taking a break after filming “The Batman,” Kravitz put on another mask – the kind used to avoid COVID-19 rather than to burgle rich people – for Steven Soderbergh’s new Hitchcockian thriller “Kimi” (now streaming on HBO Max).

Later this year, she films her directorial debut, “Pussy Island,” starring Naomi Ackie and Channing Tatum (who Kravitz is dating), and before that, she hosts “Saturday Night Live” for the first time on the 12th. March.

“I’m terrified. Wish me luck,” Kravitz jokes with a laugh about his performance on “SNL.” “I am drawn to fear. when something is scary, that usually means you should do it.”

definitive ranking:every big screen batman (including robert pattinson)