Summary
- Catwoman's survival in Batman Returns was a powerful final shot.
- Catwoman's return wasn't in the original cut, but Warner Bros. wanted a spin-off.
- While there wasn't a spin-off, Catwoman's appearance at the end of Batman Returns captured everything great about her character.
Though there have been other cinematic representations of the character since then, 1992's Batman Returns is still a beloved movie for many of the Caped Crusader's fans. Featuring a grimly Gothic winter setting and unique takes on key Batman concepts, the movie was definitely a unique spectacle. Part of the winning formula was Michelle Pfeiffer's Catwoman, who was much more than just the cat's meow.
The most evocative shot in the movie comes at the very end, though it wasn't initially planned to be included in the movie. A last-minute addition to the final movie, the reappearance of Catwoman was the cherry on top of that story. Though it amounted to nothing, it did showcase the strength of Selina Kyle as a character.
The Best Shot in Batman Returns Was the Movie's Ending
The climax of Batman Returns saw Danny DeVito's The Penguin die before being carried off by his loyal flightless birds. Beforehand, Batman and Catwoman were attacked by the unscrupulous Max Shreck, with a battered Selina Kyle even being shot in vital areas. Shrugging off these shots by counting down her supposed nine lives, she got revenge on her former boss by electrocuting him. This seemingly killed them both, but Batman only found Shreck's remains when he got up. Still, he had no reason to believe that Catwoman survived the ordeal.
Later, Bruce Wayne was being ridden around in his limousine by his butler Alfred Pennyworth. When he thought he saw Catwoman in an alley, he gave chase and only found a black cat. This furthered the idea that the villainess had perished, with Batman simply unwilling to admit it. As the two drove off, however, the Gotham City skyline and the Bat-Signal were both looked upon by none other than Catwoman. The shot mirrored the first Tim Burton Batman movie, albeit from a literal and figurative different perspective. Ironically, it was never intended to actually be in the movie.
Batman Returns' Ending Was an Expensive Late Addition
At the behest of Warner Bros. itself, the shot of Catwoman was added to the ending of Batman Returns. This was due to the studio wanting Catwoman's survival to be clear to audiences, especially since previous scenes kept it so mysterious. Selina Kyle surviving her ordeal with Max Shreck wasn't merely due to her long history in the comic books, however. Instead, it was mainly for the money-making potential of a Catwoman spin-off TV series or movie. By establishing that Selina survived the movie, it would be even easier to get audiences fired up for her own spin-off project. Given that this was long before the current era of sprawling shared superhero movie universes, it was most certainly a big deal.
Since Catwoman making it out alive was a later mandate, the scene itself wasn't shot with the rest of the movie. Instead, it was a hasty new sequence that was so far removed from the rest of the movie's shoot that Michelle Pfeiffer herself wasn't involved. Instead, the Catwoman costume was taken out and placed on a body double, which worked given that the scene only showed the character from behind. Despite how seemingly small this element was in the grand scheme of things, it certainly wasn't minute in terms of cost. The additional scene cost around $250,000, which says a lot given that it didn't even involve the character's actress.
The Planned Catwoman Spin-off to Batman Returns Was Never Made
The irony of the haphazard and unplanned nature of this iconic sequence is that it ultimately amounted to nothing. There was an initial script for the Catwoman spin-off, which featured Catwoman in an overly heroic role as she relocated to the seemingly idyllic Oasisburg. When the truth is revealed about the town and its "defenders," Catwoman leads a revolt that sounded like something straight out of the 2023 Barbie movie. There were even two characters that acted as new love interests for Selina, with one parodying Bruce Wayne while the other was a male stand-in for Lois Lane.
Ultimately, the movie wasn't made, and this was mainly due to the changing direction of the Batman movie series in the 1990s. Though it was fairly well-received by fans, Batman Returns was controversial among viewers (namely parents) due to its oversexualized humor and storytelling. This was one of the reasons that Warner Bros. chose to go in a new direction with the series, with Tim Burton no longer in the running to direct the next entry. Joel Schumacher's Batman Forever was in many ways a reboot in everything but name, with Michael Gough's Alfred and Pat Hingle's James Gordon being the only returning elements.
Given that the Burton Batman movies were essentially no longer in play whatsoever, it made sense that anything connected to them also got the cut. Thus, the Michael Pfeiffer Catwoman was culled, with many audiences being unaware that it was ever being developed to begin with. Years down the road, a solo Catwoman movie was finally made by Warner Bros., though Michelle Pfeiffer wasn't involved at all. This reboot was also divorced entirely from the Batman mythology, with the titular heroine not even being Selina Kyle. Catwoman became one of the worst-reviewed superhero movies of all time, and it made the lack of a spin-off vehicle starring Pfeiffer all the more disappointing.
How Batman Returns' Ending Perfectly Encapsulated Catwoman's Character
When Catwoman was seen rising among the Gotham City skyline at the end of Batman Returns, she did so in a defiant, almost antagonistic manner. This represented how she acted throughout the movie and in the comics, which is why she's such a popular part of Batman's world. In the movie, Catwoman's actions were essentially mere rebellion against her former mousy existence and persona. They came off as random and almost nonsensical, with her occasionally stealing being the only thing with any logic behind it. By doing this and trying to strike at Max Shreck, she stood against Batman and how he usually handled things.
This was even the case in the ending, where Catwoman saw the Bat-Signal as a sort of challenge. More than likely, she'd still be as fierce of a problem to Batman as she was a lover. Such is the dichotomy in the comics, where the two can barely navigate their relationship due to Selina being such a continual thief. Thus, everything that the character was about is represented in a scene that was rushed to begin with. It didn't result in a spin-off movie or Selina's story continuing in another film, but it did perfectly showcase how death, laws, men, and Batman were powerless to keep Catwoman from landing on her feet.
Batman Returns is available to stream on Max.