Batman Returns video shows Michelle Pfeiffer pulling off one-take whip stunt

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

Michelle Pfeiffer played Catwoman in Tim Burton's Batman Returns to perfection, but the actress went to the next level when it came to wielding the femme fatale's deadly whip. Pfeiffer studied with a whip master for months and a behind-the-scenes video from Batman Returns has surfaced that shows just how skilled Pfeiffer became.

While some have said that there might be another person pulling the heads off as Michelle Pfeiffer did her thing, it's still mighty impressive, especially considering that Pfeiffer is wearing skin-tight leather and high-heels. While speaking with THR in 2017, Pfeiffer said that on her first day of whip training, she accidentally caught her whip masters face with the whip and drew blood. "It completely shattered me," Pfeiffer said, but added that she would go on to perform all of her own stunts with the whip, although she admitted that the first day was more challenging than she anticipated. "I was very nervous on my first day of shooting. I'd gotten pretty good with the whip, but when you show up…you don't anticipate all the lights everywhere," Pfeiffer said. "They were set up in places that prevented me from hitting my marks with the whip. So we had to rework the lighting again and again." Pfeiffer has also recently teased that she'd be down to reprise the role if asked, and with Michael Keaton set to return as Bruce Wayne/Batman for Andy Muschietti's The Flash, that possibility isn't quite as unlikely as it once was.