Before she was Catwoman in Christopher Nolan‘s The Dark Knight Rises, Anne Hathaway was almost Black Cat in a fourth Spider-Man film, a role that she says would’ve likely kept her out of the world of DC.
During a recent appearance on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Hathaway touched on the “what if” scenario of her playing Felicia Hardy/Black Cat in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 4. According to her, she doesn’t think she would’ve even been considered for a Batman movie if it had happened.
“If [‘Spider-Man 4’] had gotten made, I don’t know if I would’ve been considered for [‘The Dark Knight Rises’],” Hathaway said. “Perhaps [Christopher Nolan] would’ve said, ‘No, she’s occupied in another universe.’”
The history of Sam Raimi’s fourth Spider-Man film
In 2009, Sony went into development on Raimi’s fourth Spider-Man movie with stars Tobey Maguire and Kristen Dunst set to reprise their roles as Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson. Hathaway was cast as Black Cat opposite John Malkovich as The Vulture.
Hathaway reportedly never saw the script or a costume, as Raimi was dissatisfied with the drafts written by James Vanderbilt, David Lindsay-Abaire, and Gary Ross. When Raimi could not commit to a 2011 release date, Sony canceled the sequel in favor of the 2012 reboot The Amazing Spider-Man starring Andrew Garfield. With her schedule cleared up, Hathaway accepted the part of Selina Kyle/Catwoman in Christopher Nolan‘s final Dark Knight installment released that same year.
Maguire recently reprised the Wall Crawler in the multiverse-centric Spider-Man: No Way Home opposite Garfield and Tom Holland. The blockbuster success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe installment renewed interest in Raimi’s unproduced Spider-Man 4 and the director told Rolling Stone that he is open to the possibility if Sony allows it to happen.
“If there was a great story there, I think it’d be . . . my love for the characters hasn’t diminished one iota,” Raimi said. “It would be the same things that would stop me now that stopped me then: ‘Does Tobey want to do it? Is there an emotional arc for him? Is there a great conflict for this character? And is there a worthy villain that fits into the theme of the piece?’ There’s a lot of questions that would have to be answered. If those could be answered, then I’d love to.”
