The Untold Story of Tim Burton's Canceled Catwoman Spin-Off
New details about Tim Burton's canceled Batman spin-off movie have been revealed by the project's screenwriter, detailing some bold creative decisions that came close to being a reality.
The Vision Behind the Catwoman Spin-Off
New details about Tim Burton's canceled Batman spin-off movie have been revealed by the project's screenwriter, detailing some bold creative decisions that came close to being a reality. After Michelle Pfeiffer stole the show in Batman Returns alongside Michael Keaton's Batman, Burton was given the chance to continue his vision with a Catwoman spin-off movie around 1992. The project never came to light, sadly, but now Batman Returns writer Daniel Waters has spoken to IndieWire to confirm some surprising details.
Tim Burton talking to Michael Keaton and Michelle Pfeiffer in costume on the set of Batman Returns
According to Waters, both he and Burton presented very different ideas for the Catwoman spin-off movie that ultimately became one of the many canceled Batman movies. Michelle Pfeiffer would, of course, have returned, and one pitch seemingly took pot-shots at Michael Keaton's Batman. Burton's vision stripped everything back, while Waters' channeled the same anarchic spirit of The Boys:
“He wanted to do an $18 million black and white movie, like the original Cat People, of Selina just lowkey living in a small town. And I wanted to make a Batman movie where the metaphor was about Batman. So I had her move to a Los Angeles version of Gotham City, and it’s run by three asshole superheroes. It was The Boys before The Boys. But he got exhausted reading my script.”
Why Tim Burton's Catwoman Spin-Off Never Happened
Despite how exciting it would have been to see Tim Burton continue his Batman vision, even only in spin-off form, the production lost momentum very quickly. Both Burton and star Pfeiffer moved on to focus on other projects and Joel Schumacher came on board as the new helmer of the Batman movie universe for Batman Forever in 1995. Catwoman actually hung around in development hell for years, before being dramatically transformed into the Halle Berry vehicle of 2004.
Waters previously revealed some details about the canned project: “After the traumas of the Batman Returns she has amnesia, and she doesn’t really remember why she has all these bullet holes in her body, so she goes to relax in Oasisburg. What Gotham City is to New York, Oasisburg is to Las Vegas-Los Angeles-Palm Springs. [It’s a] resort area in the middle of the desert. It’s run by superheroes, and the movie has great fun at making fun at the whole male superhero mythos. Then they end up being not very good at all deep down, and she’s got to go back to that whole Catwoman thing.”
Waters' The Boys-like vibe for Catwoman was almost also adopted in an early version of Batman Returns, which the screenwriter pitched as a meta take-down of Batman (1989), which he hated. It would have opened with a shot of the Batman logo, and would have panned out to reveal a merchandise store filled with Batman merch. That would have been Waters' commentary on the exploitative merchandising of the franchise, with Batman making several pointed references during the sequel. Michael Keaton's reaction shut it down: “[Michael] Keaton said, ‘This is very clever. Cut it.'''
