“Gotham” star Camren Bicondova announced on Twitter Friday that her time as Catwoman has come to an end, as she will not appear in next week’s series finale.
“It’s important to me that I’m the one to tell you this because it was a choice that I made, through a lot of thoughts, prayer, and time (which Warner Bros., FOX, and our internal production team respected,” she wrote.
The final episode of “Gotham” will take place 10 years after the events of the series and will see Bruce Wayne become Batman for the first time. Bicondova said it was her decision not to play Selina in the final episode, as she didn’t feel comfortable playing an older version of the character. Catwoman will be played in the finale by Lili Simmons, who starred in “The Purge” back in 2013.
“I wanted to give Selina Kyle as much respect as possible. Some will say that giving her respect would include seeing the character through to the end of the show, which I understand,” Bicondova wrote.
“But I firmly believe that part of leaving a legacy and being part of a legacy means knowing when to pass the torch to someone else. I was blessed to be the vessel for Selina Kyle for her formative teen years, and it only felt right to give someone else the torch for her adult self.”
Bicondova was the seventh actress to play Selina/Catwoman, a role that dates back to Lee Meriwether, Julie Newmar and Eartha Kitt, who all played the villain opposite Adam West in the 1960s “Batman” TV series and films. In later decades, the role was given to Michelle Pfeiffer, Halle Berry, and Anne Hathaway, as Catwoman transitioned from a nemesis of Batman to an ally, antihero, and love interest of the Dark Knight.
“If I could give you some of what Selina Kyle has taught me, it’d be this,” said Bicondova. “Stand firm, and you’ll win life. Be bold, be loving, be trustworthy, keep a healthy distance, and look darkness in the face and say, ‘You can’t keep me down.’”
The final episode of “Gotham” airs Thursday, April 25 on Fox.
Read Bicondova’s announcement below:
#Gotham
My heart. ????????❤️ pic.twitter.com/0TopulDoHK— Camren Bicondova (@camrenbicondova) April 19, 2019