Batwoman showrunner Caroline Dries has confirmed previous reports that The CW series will invent a new main lead instead of recasting Ruby Rose’s Kate Kane.
While appearing at an ATX Festival At Home Q&A (via TVLine), Caroline Dries explained that this decision paysārespect to everything that Ruby [Rose] put into the Kate Kane characterā and āit also helps the audience, because weāre not asking them to address āthe elephant in the room’ā.
However, the Batwoman showrunner revealed that they did consider taking the “soap opera” route:
āTo be honest with you, I did consider the āsoap opera versionā [of recasting] for a hot minute, because selfishly we already had a couple episodes written, and transition-wise it would be seamless. But upon further reflection ā and I think [Arrowverse EP] Greg [Berlanti] helped me make this call ā heās like, āI think we should just reboot Batwoman as a different character.’ā
Who Is This New Batwoman?
Taking up the mantle will be Ryan Wilder, someone who has little in common with Kate Kane. Here’s a character description for Wilder:
āSheās likable, messy, a little goofy and untamed. Sheās also nothing like Kate Kane, the woman who wore the batsuit before her. With no one in her life to keep her on track, Ryan spent years as a drug-runner, dodging the GCPD and masking her pain with bad habits. A girl who would steal milk for an alley cat could also kill you with her bare hands, Ryan is the most dangerous type of fighter: highly skilled and wildly undisciplined. An out lesbian. Athletic. Raw. Passionate. Fallible. And very much not your stereotypical All-American hero.ā
Most people expected The CW to simply recast Ruby Rose’s Kate Kane with a new actress. Instead, it looks like they are putting it all on the line with an original character who seemingly has no ties to the Batfamily. This decision is so monumental because it could be the beginning of the end for Batwoman. Or it could be just what the series needed to push it to another level. We’ll have to wait until Batwoman returns for its second season to find out.
Are you on-board with a new character taking up the Batwoman mantle? Or do you think The CW should have just cast a new actress as Kate Kane? Let us know in the comments below!