The news broke Monday, with multiple outlets reporting that Zoe had landed the role after testing out some scenes last week opposite heartthrob Robert Pattinson -- who's donning the cowl next in Matt Reeves' "The Batman" ... which is hitting theaters in 2021.

The ironic thing about Zoe's casting here is that she told Nylon back in 2015 that she couldn't even get an audition for Nolan's last Batman flick, "The Dark Knight Rises," which she attributed to her race. That's not out of the clear blue sky either.

Zoe said she was basically blocked from even reading for a small role in the movie, allegedly being told that somebody had said they weren't "going urban" with the last installment.

It's unclear what exactly that even means, or what role Zoe was trying to nab at the time -- but this has gotta be the ultimate revenge, right??? BTW, Anne Hathaway played Catwoman in Nolan's version -- but there have been a couple of black women who've portrayed the character.

Perhaps most famously, Halle Berry played Catwoman in the self-titled 2004 flick. Another actress was Eartha Kitt, who played Catwoman in the old "Batman" TV series from back in the '60s. She starred opposite Adam West ... which was pretty groundbreaking in those days.

Now, it looks like Zoe's gonna have a crack at the role -- and, based on what we've seen from her over the years in the drama department, she'll probably kill it.