Catwoman starring Halle Berry is widely regarded as one of the worst comic book movies of all time, but the notorious 2004 flop had attracted its share of negativity before it even hit theaters - in part due to Berry's revealing costume.
All previous takes on Catwoman had donned a variation of a single-piece catsuit, while the outfit Patience Price wore in the movie exposed more skin and completely revamped the mask.
Apparently, an image of Berry sporting an earlier version of the suit leaked online, and fans of Batman's feline foe were not pleased.
"That was the first thing that started the negativity," producer Denise Di Novi tells EW. "It was an early shot before we’d perfected it. It was so different than what people were used to in the other movie. A catsuit, by definition, everything is covered up. We thought it’d be cool to be more rock & roll and bare. Halle was famous for wearing a bikini in her Bond movie, and we were like, why not? People had such a reaction to it, which is so ridiculous. We had the famous Colleen Atwood helping us with just that costume. Halle had a lot of input. I still think it’s cool and a lot more modern!"
Berry also recalls the negative reactions, but feels it was the right move to give this new take on the character a redesigned suit.
"Fans were upset about the suit. It was something different, but in our minds, why keep remaking Catwoman if you’re not going to take risks and bring something different to it? The beauty was that it was better suited for my version of her, my body, who I was, and my sensibilities."
"The beauty of doing it was because it wasn’t in the Batman universe," added the Academy Award-winner. "Men, historically, get to have big franchises that revolve around them," says Berry. "This was an opportunity to be forward-thinking, pushing that envelope for women. Why can’t we have our own superhero movie that revolves around us and our universe?"
We're sure more fans would have embraced the suit if the movie turned out better, but Halle Berry slinking around in a sexy leather outfit proved to be the least of Catwoman's problems.
Berry has said she'd actually consider revisiting the character should the opportunity arise. Zoë Kravitz currently plays Selina Kyle in Matt Reeves' BatVerse, but James Gunn might be looking for a new Catwoman for the DCU st some point.
What do you guys think? Would you like to see Berry get another crack at the Cat? Was the 2004 movie really that bad, or did it have some redeeming qualities? Be sure to drop us a comment down below.