Way back in October 2020, photos from the set of The Batman surfaced offering a first look at Zoe Kravitz as Selina Kyle. Attending the funeral of Mayor Don Mitchell Jr. alongside Carmine Falcone and The Penguin, it appeared as if she might be in cahoots with the villains.
In the movie, while Selina does have a history with Falcone, she keeps her distance after crossing paths with him in 44 Below and is incensed when the Caped Crusader suggests they're in any way connected. Later, we learn that the gangster is her father and that Catwoman infiltrated his club in an effort to steal money she believes is owed to her after he allowed Selina to be taken into care as a child. Based on those set photos, however, something clearly changed during reshoots.
As you can see in the screenshot below, Zoe Kravitz was swapped out with an unknown character/actress who Bruce Wayne initially believes is Catwoman before realising he's mistaken.
Clearly, there was once a version of The Batman where the hero wasn't wrong and Selina was much closer to Falcone. It's possible director Matt Reeves didn't want Bruce and Selina to interact outside of their respective superhero identities or that her story arc was once going to play out a little differently (with Carmine either aware she's his daughter or the cat burglar getting much closer to her dad in an effort to rip him off). Either way, it's interesting to think about what might have been!
Another noteworthy change is that Falcone has those scratches from the comic books on his face at this point; in the movie, he didn't get those until the final act while battling Catwoman. It's not uncommon for reshoots to make big changes, and these are definitely noteworthy alterations.
Check out a comparison of the scenes below and let us know your theories on why the decision was made to remove Selina from this scene down in the comments section.
Oh, and make sure to read our review of The Batman by clicking here.