Halle Berrywouldn’t mind returning to play an iconic comic book character once again. Just not the one you’re thinking of. During a recent appearance onThe Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Berry discussed her recent birthday, carrying the torch at the Paris Olympics, andcelebrating the 20th anniversary of her DC Comics filmCatwoman. DC fans may have tried to erase that film from their collective memory, but Berry hasn’t, and insists she would be willing to reprise the role, under one condition.
Catwoman is the story of shy, sensitive artist Patience Philips (Halle Berry), a woman who can’t seem to stop apologizing for her own existence. She works as a graphic designer for Hedare Beauty, a mammoth cosmetics company on the verge of releasing a revolutionary anti-aging product. When Patience inadvertently happens upon a dark secret her employer is hiding, she finds herself in the middle of a corporate conspiracy. What happens next changes Patience forever.
While Berry became famous for another comic book role, playing Storm in the Bryan SingerX-Menfilms, her role as Patience Phillips in the 2004Catwomanfilm remains notably infamous. Panned by critics and fans alike, the film was dead on arrival when it opened in July 2004, as moviegoers rejected the campy melodrama. Berry told Fallon, however, thatthe film is finally finding fansthanks to streaming. When asked by Fallon if she would consider playing Catwoman ever again, she made clear the only condition that would make her consider it: if she were behind the camera:
Maybe, if I could direct it.
It’s not clear if she’s serious about revisitingCatwomanif she could direct, but she has helmed a film before, 2020’s dramaBruised. Regardless, Berry told Fallon that the film is finally getting some love from young fans who are seeing the film for the first time.
“What I’m happy about is the children have found it now on the internet. The kids love it. It’s so vindicating, because now they’re saying it’s cool, and what the heck was everybody’s problem with it?”
How Halle Berry Made History at The Razzies Thanks to Catwoman
It’s no secret thatCatwomanis generally considered one of the worst comic book movies ever made.It currently holds an 8% Tomatometer critics' score and an 18% audience score onRotten Tomatoes. The film had a $100 million budget, but only made $40 million at the domestic box office. Ever since the film’s opening, however, Berry has been defiant in defending the film. When it was nominated for seven Razzie Awards, winning four, including Worst Picture and Worst Actress,Berry became the first-ever Razzie winnerto pick up her award in person, carrying her Best Actress Oscar forMonster’s Ballwith her.
Halle Berry Reacts to Ariana Grande’s Catwoman in Her Music Video
Halle Berry responds to Ariana Grande’s Catwoman in her video The Boy Is Mine.
While Berry has been discussing Catwoman a lot recently, Marvel fans are wondering why she did not appear as Storm in this summer’s runaway smash,Deadpool & Wolverine.Berry had previously voiced her willingnessto play Storm again, and the film used the multiverse to bring back a number of Marvel characters from past non-MCU films. It seemed like a no-brainer for Berry to reunite with her former co-star Hugh Jackman. Alas, Berry did not appear, andshe recently revealedthat she had been approached about the possibility by Ryan Reynolds’s wife Blake Lively, but no one ever followed up.
“Blake (Lively) asked me one time, I ran into her at a Marc Jacobs fashion show, and she said, ‘Would you ever be in my husband’s movie as Storm?‘I said, ‘Yeah, if he asked me,’ but he never asked me.”
Catwomanis currently not available on any streaming service.
