The original Catwoman herself, Julie Newmar, isn't thrilled by the dark direction recent "Batman" movies have taken.
Newmar, 78, portrayed the leather-clad anti-hero in the 1960s television series. She recently told Michael Yo on Yahoo!’s “The Yo Show,”that she feels the reimagined film epic doesn’t embrace the good sentiment of her past show, and that the franchise has been moving darker for decades.
"It's dark," she said about “The Dark Knight” franchise. "I think we had so much fun in the ‘60s, 1966 to 1968. And then Vietnam came and things sort of got darker and darker and darker."
She attributed some of the modern movie tone to the difference in costumes, now more industrious as opposed to the lighter, simpler ensembles from her days.
“What with all the costumes that they have to wear now, there's a lot that you can't see anymore," she said. "You know, when you have everything sort of padded out and very macho and all that kind of thing. It’s as if the costumes act for you."
Newmar had a hand in the creation of her famed costume, noting that she “redesigned it” with a gold belt around her hips because “it looked better there.”
Her head-to-toe leather suit has been on display at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington for the past several years.
Newmar's 1960s series starred Adam West as Batman and Burt Ward as Robin. In a June interview with Hollywood.com, Ward also recalled an appreciation towards the more light-hearted feel of his TV show.
“People come up to me and they say, 'We like the Batman movies, but we like what you did with Batman much better,'" Ward, 67, recalled. "And, in fact, when Adam [West] is speaking to a crowd, he says, 'You know, when you go to the movie theaters, you see the Dark Knight. But with Burt and me… we’re the Bright Knights.'"
But West can give credit when credit is due. The 83-year-old actor, who recently appeared on Seth MacFarlane’s animated series, “Family Guy,” said in an interview with IGN in April that, unlike Newmar, he was a"Dark Knight" admirer.
“Absolutely. I'm a fan of anything that's good, especially when it's conscientiously good,” West remarked.
West was also asked if he may reprise his superhero role in animated fashion.
“I get asked about it often, but I'm not sure. I just go my own way,” he said. “If my agent calls and presents me with something, and I find it refreshing or illuminating, yeah I'll do it. To hear the fans [asking about a Batman series] it's great. It means that I'm still being considered for all kinds of different things. As you get older, that's pretty rare, and wonderful. “
Look, I love Julie and think she did a fantastic job in the role of Catwoman, but she is delusional if she thinks the true Batman myth is what was established on the show. Does she even know that the original source material for Batman was very dark to begin with?
Old or not, you'd bang her if given the chance.