Anne Hathaway played Catwoman for Christopher Nolan, but she had originally agreed to play the role in ‘Spider-Man 4’.

Getting big superhero roles is the goal of every actor in Hollywood. Anne Hathaway was in such an unusual situation before her casting as Selina Kyle / Catwoman in The Dark Knight Rises. The fourth Spider-Man film starring Tobey Maguire was supposed to be directed by Sam Raimi, but that plan was never carried out. Raimi, who directed three successful Spider-Man films, returned to the role of director and most of the main cast when the project’s development got underway.

However, the movie, in which Hathaway was supposed to play Felicia Hardy/Black Cat, was ultimately shelved in 2010. Now, her thoughts turned to how this role in the shelved film would affect her chances of playing Catwoman in Christopher Nolan’s eagerly awaited $1.085 billion Batman film.

Anne Hathaway in Dark Knight Rises

Anne Hathaway Wouldn’t Have Starred in The Dark Knight Rises if Spider-Man 4 Was Made?

Had Anne Hathaway, 41, played Catwoman in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 4, she feels she would never have landed the role in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises. In fact, she feels that she almost lost the role in the Christian Bale-starrer 2012 film because of her initial casting as Felicia Hardy in Spider-Man 4. The actress recently talked in detail about her casting for Spider-Man 4 on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, revealing that not much had been done on the movie before it was canceled:

“I did not get into costume and did not read a script past the audition sides. I got the part and, yeah, it just… I think that’s probably more the producers’ story to tell than mine, should they ever decide to tell it. The Spider-Man universe has gone on to be so enormous and so thrilling. It’s just reinventing itself and all of those things, so I wouldn’t want to make more of it than is necessary.”

Anne Hathaway in Locked Down

She believes the chance to star in The Dark Knight Rises might not have come her way if she had been in the Rami film because Nolan would have responded, “No, no, she is occupied in another universe”. In her words:

“The way I hold it is if that movie had gotten made, I don’t know if I would have been considered because I don’t know if [Nolan] would’ve said, ‘No, no, she’s occupied in another universe’.”

Eventually, Hathaway was cast as Catwoman in the final installment of The Dark Knight trilogy, the highest-grossing Batman movie to date and the second movie in the Batman film series to gross over $1 billion globally.

Anne Hathaway Shared Her Acting Philosophy

Anne Hathaway in Les Misérables

According to Anne Hathaway’s analysis in The Dark Knight Rises, the relationship between Batman (Christian Bale) and Catwoman is essential to the account and is marked by deception, trust, and shared goals. She further added:

“As an actor, you don’t know this on day one, but you learn to just go, ‘You know what? The right role finds the right person, and sometimes it’s you, and sometimes it’s not, so when it doesn’t happen, just trust deeper and keep going.” 

Hathaway was commended by critics for adding charm and subtlety to her character, created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane. Also, she went on to say that early in her career, she was chosen for a musical, but she was unable to participate because of other commitments:

“Funny enough, a career has something to do with you, but it also doesn’t have a lot to do with you, so you just gotta lean in. Lean into it, lean into what’s happening, and go with it. Sometimes you receive praise and sometimes you get knocked down…but it’s your life, and it’s what you signed up for because you felt this thing inside of yourself that said, ‘This is what you’re supposed to do.’”

The development of Spider-Man 4 has been ongoing for years, and Nolan’s Batman trilogy concluded over ten years ago.

Eileen, Hathaway’s latest film, is set in 1960s New England. It was opened on December 1 in a small number of theaters before going wide on December 8. Positive reviews were bestowed upon the film by critics, who praised its faithfulness to the original work, the historical setting, and the performances of its cast members.

Anne Hathaway | Eileen

Along with Shea Whigham as Jim Dunlop, the cast also features Marin Ireland as Rita Polk, Owen Teague as Randy, Tonye Patano as Mrs. Stevens, Jefferson White as Buck Warren, and Siobhan Fallon Hogan as Mrs. Murray.

Watch Eileen in theaters while The Dark Knight trilogy is streaming on Max.