Wow! I really think that role is perfect for her.

With the horrible casting (imo, of course) of Scarlett Johansson as The Black Widow in the upcoming Ironman 2, I think this role would be perfect for our Eliza.

I could also see her playing a great Jessica Jones from Alias if they ever put that story on the big screen. The character is tough but definitely looking to stay out of the spotlight--come to think of it, that sounds a bit like Faith.

alexreager | November 19, 19:28 CET

Isn't she friends with Tobey Maguire? I seem to remember seeing or hearing about an audition tape and she read his Mary Jane... Plus for all we know they might actually see it as an incentive to keep him contracted for more films, if they surround him with people he likes. (Sort of like how all those Ocean's 11 remake-sequels got made since the cast liked getting paid to hang out.)

Plus Raimi does love his horror genre crossovers so maybe her involvement w/ Buffy and those horror flicks is a plus?

orangewaxlion | November 19, 19:39 CET

Yeah,Eliza's friends with Tobey Maguire and helped him audition for the role of Spider-Man.The audition is actually on the DVD for the first Spider-Man film.

[ edited by Buffyfantic on 2009-11-19 19:39 ]

Buffyfantic | November 19, 19:41 CET

If any one is curious, someone did upload that extra on Youtube (man, what I thought I remembered is totally different from what the actual video ended up being).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J61RWkXEKTc

orangewaxlion | November 19, 19:59 CET

Oh, yeah!

Pointy | November 19, 20:07 CET

She would be an excellent casting choice!

Lunakitty | November 19, 20:42 CET

I thought she was like, leaving acting. Now we got her wanting this. The Wet movie, etc. Irks me. I can never quite enjoy a Liam Neeson movie ever since way back when he was all like, I'm leaving acting. I don't want the same to happen to Eliza.

narky | November 19, 21:55 CET

I don't remember hearing that she was thinking about leaving acting.

Simon | November 19, 22:26 CET

I would so love to see her as the Black Cat. I don't know much about the Spiderman verse since I don't read comics, but I always wanted to see Eliza in a superhero flick. She's perfect for them!

When exactly did Eliza say she was definitely leaving acting, narky? She's only thrown it out there that she was at a crossroads before signing a contract with Fox and then later that she would *probably* be done acting in ten years. Ten years hasn't passed yet, so you can still enjoy Eliza stuff!

Aphrodite | November 19, 22:37 CET

I can't see Eliza as a blonde, if she ever got the role. But it would be a nice wink to fans if she did -- first playing Faith and then Felicia Hardy.

Mcjw_serenity | November 19, 22:53 CET

Argh yet another speculative movie casting piece. Aren't people as sick of these as I am? How many articles like this were there about Wonder Woman?

daylight | November 19, 23:04 CET

Hmmm. I do love Eliza, don't get me wrong, but I'm having a hard time picturing her as Black Cat, to be honest. She's the wrong 'type', appearance wise - and not just because she's not a blond. Then again, the Spider-Man films have gotten a lot of the casting very right so far, so if they do end up picking her, I'm sure she'll be a great fit visually (acting wise, I'm pretty confident already).

GVH | November 19, 23:28 CET

Blond?

Black Cat's hair is meant to be completely white. Though I don't know that they would follow through with that in the film.

Risch22 | November 19, 23:56 CET

I'm still unsure about another Raimi Spider-Man with the same cast. I can't believe how wrong they got it with the third. This time they better just go all out, hold no bounds, "this is a superhero story" on it. Just basically for a set-up for the Marvel Movie Universe that's happening. Avengers, SHIELD... its gonna be amazing.

Jaymii | November 20, 00:07 CET

Found it.

brinderwalt | November 20, 00:51 CET

I agree, from what I recall of Black Cat from the 80s (when I gave up comics, until S-8 came along) Eliza is the wrong "type." Then again, Hackman was widlly not the type to do Luthor but that worked.

DaddyCatALSO | November 20, 01:59 CET

@ Jayme:

Sony owns the movie rights to "Spider-Man." Marvel/Disney owns the movie rights to Iron Man, Thor, Avengers, etc. (Paramount distributes the Marvel pics only, they only get a cut of the distribution fees).

It'd be much too legal wrangling to get Spider-Man in a Avengers movie.

Mcjw_serenity | November 20, 02:31 CET

In Marvel's 'Ultimate Universe' (which is a modernized retelling of the origins of some of their superheroes) Black Cat's white hair is a wig, and her hair is quite short and brown. I think Eliza would be near perfect as Felicia Hardy/Black Cat.

espalier | November 20, 02:49 CET

I'm with you daylight.

silent knight | November 20, 02:54 CET

Well I'd actually watch a Spider-man movie if she was in it.

JAYROCK | November 20, 03:00 CET

Wait, the real/616 Black Cat actually did have white hair? I always just assumed that it was a wig since it seems like it'd be blatantly obvious whenever there was a crime. There are only two or three attractive young-ish women with white hair and one of them is black. ...and they're all relatively high profile superheroes in the comicsverse.

Anyway, I think I sort of cross contaminate my impression of Black Cat with Catwoman but I don't see how this would be an especially problematic role for Dushku to take on. She's always given me that impression of joie de vivre while doing crazy/naughty/morally questionable things and it would sort of fit into the film's universe that they introduce this one character--female at that-- who has these family and personal issues but not dwell on them but escape using powers/cunning.

I've actually more or less forgotten the character arc of Spider-Man 3 aside from Tobey getting some wonderfully weird dance sequences and being filled with rage, but it would be a logical character growth thing that they introduce a character who might help him come to terms with his powers without it being a complete angst-fest and I think Dushku could probably pull that off.

orangewaxlion | November 20, 04:45 CET

Dammit, she's gotta have white hair. And I love ED but don't see her as Felicia Hardy. Maybe Angelina Jolie if she were Kirsten Dunst's age.

Squishy | November 20, 06:04 CET

Im ashamed to say it, but I dont see Eliza as Black Cat. Among other things Black Cat has... curves that Eliza is missing.

Satai (with Punsch) | November 20, 09:35 CET

That hasn't stopped them with casting other female and male actors in comic book roles with impossible--or in some cases just very rare--body types. Very few dudes are as huge as some of the superhero comic book characters are drawn, and those dudes in real life that are that big/built aren't necessarily actors/shouldn't be put on screen.

Angelina Jolie got padding for Tomb Raider, no reason they couldn't give Eliza the same if it was made out to be that big a deal. But I can't see Raimi and the studio caring much about it, it's not like Kirsten Dunst looks anything like how Mary Jane is usually drawn. Aside from having to dye her hair red, they didn't encourage/contract her to change anything about her looks.

Eliza's sportyness would probably make her a good candidate for such a physically demanding role, though I'm not sure I care much about the Black Cat.

I remember Felicia Hardy's hair being long and blonde underneath the white wig, in the `90s cartoon.

Kris | November 20, 09:48 CET

@ orangewaxlion,

I'm pretty sure that the real Black Cat was never shown with any other hair color besides white.

Risch22 | November 20, 10:25 CET

How many articles like this were there about Wonder Woman?

Speaking of which, who does everyone think should play Wonder Woman ? *ducks*

Raimi's making the right noises about Spidey 4 (back to basics etc.) and he's always had the right visual style for it but i'll be going into 4 needing to be impressed much more than I was going into the suckfest that (a few scenes aside) turned out to be 'Spider-Man 3: Bigger Isn't Always Better'.

As to Eliza, she's got the right vibe even if she's not quite the perfect type physically.

Saje | November 20, 12:13 CET

Since I don't read comics, I have no opinion about Eliza not being the right "type". But Spider-Man is a quality franchise - one of the few "based on comics" movie series I've enjoyed.
It would be great to see her get a good role in the next movie, if the whole Spider-Man thing hasn't run it's course.

Shey | November 20, 18:25 CET

The idea of Eliza as the Black Cat is appealing, although the "white hair" could be a problem. Part of what makes Eliza so appealing is her dark hair and eyes, and some of her aura would diminish some without that lovely dark mane.

The media (and perhaps the public, too) cannot seem to see her as anything more than a tough girl, and that's unfortunate because I've seen what she can do. To be honest, as much as I loved Eliza butt-kicking as Faith, what really won me over was her portrayal of Faith’s realization of her evil side and her later redemption to a hero, which took a lot of acting chops to pull off.

If Eliza’s smart, and I think she is, she can turn lemons into lemonade and use that perception to get roles she can infuse with her own empathy and active lifestyle and give it twists that reveal how good she is.

Riverine | November 21, 17:13 CET