by Meg Malone
As the release of "The Dark Knight Rises" inches closer, it's hard to remember a time before we knew that Anne Hathaway would be playing Catwoman — also known in non-feline form as Selina Kyle — in Christopher Nolan's final Batman movie. However, Hathaway told MTV News that the chance to play this particular character initially "surprised" her.
"I was just so convinced it wasn't going to be her," Hathaway said. "When [Nolan] told me it was Catwoman I had to shift gears immediately."
This revelation came about mid-way through a meeting with Nolan, said Hathaway, who had originally been thinking the role was that of Joker-groupie Harley Quinn.
"I didn't think that he was going to go there," Hathaway said, noting the strong pop-culture association of Catwoman with Michelle Pfeiffer's performance in "Batman Returns." "But then I guess, you know [Jack] Nicholson's Joker was the exact same way, and [Nolan] didn't have any fear with that and obviously Heath [Ledger] did the most extraordinary job with that."
Indeed, Nolan has very much created his own version of the Batman universe to impressive results, and in the recently released 13-minute "The Dark Knight Rises" featurette, Hathaway expressed the need for her character to be a part of this particular world.
"The most important thing is to fit into Chris' Gotham City," she said. "My Catwoman has to be Chris Nolan's Catwoman."
Do you think Hathaway fits the role purrrr-fectly? (You're welcome for the cat pun-induced eye roll). Let us know in the comments and on Twitter!
