The Batman ended with the Dark Knight and Selina Kyle going their separate ways. While Catwoman leaves Gotham behind, Batman vows to inspire hope in his city moving forward rather than exacting vengeance on its criminal element.
In The Penguin, Selina wrote to her half-sister, Sofia Gigante, who had found herself locked up in Arkham State Hospital. That seemed like a plot point we'd see further explored in either The Penguin season 2 or The Batman Part II, though the latter appears unlikely based on a new rumour.
According to Jeff Sneider (@TheInSneider), "At last week's Caught Stealing junket, journalists were asked by publicists not to ask Zoe Kravitz any questions about The Batman Part II because 'she's not in it and doesn't know anything,' per a source."
"No word on whether that's true, as we all know publicists lie, but that's the word on the street. Just saying! Don't shoot the messenger."
As Sneider points out, publicists lie, and that might have just been a way to avoid the junket being hijacked by an endless stream of questions about Catwoman's expected return in The Batman sequel. However, it's also possible that filmmaker Matt Reeves couldn't find a place for the character in his and Mattson Tomlin's script.
In many respects, The Batman Part II doesn't need Catwoman as her story reached a largely fitting end in the first movie (as for that Sofia tease, it simply shows Selina is still out there somewhere, and likely making a new life for herself). We also can't discount the possibility that DC Studios has its own plans for the femme fatale in the DCU.
The Brave and the Bold will pick up with an experienced Batman who discovers that he has a 10-year-old son, Damian. That means he's likely encountered Catwoman, and if she's set to factor into the DC Studios movie—and the wider DCU—then it might have forced Reeves to move on from Selina.
"We watched cats and lions and how they fight," Kravitz previously said of her approach to the character, "and talked about what is actually possible when you’re my size, and Batman’s so much stronger than me. What is my skill? It’s being fast and tricky. So we did some really interesting floor work that incorporated different kinds of martial arts and capoeira and a kind of feline, dance-like movement."
She added, "This is an origin story for Selina. So, it’s the beginning of her figuring out who she is, beyond just someone trying to survive. I think there’s a lot of space to grow and I think we are watching her become what I’m sure will be the femme fatale."
The Batman Part II is set to be released in theaters on October 1, 2027.