Javicia Leslie Cast As New Batwoman
Say hello to Ryan Wilder!
The CW show has finally found it’s replacement for Ruby Rose’s Kate Kane in God Friended Me‘s Javicia Leslie. Leslie will play Ryan Wilder, who is described as a new “likable, messy, a little goofy and untamed” character. Wilder will quickly assume the heroic identity in the cape and cowl when the show returns from it’s extended Coronavirus-related hiatus in January 2021.
Producers of Batwoman have revealed that the character of Wilder will be “nothing like Kate Kane”. She is said to be a former drug runner who now finds herself living in a van – quite different from the usual superhero stereotype.
Leslie, like Rose, is a member of the LGBTQ family, keeping authenticity in the role and symbol of Batwoman’s character.
Speaking of her casting, Leslie had this to say:
I am extremely proud to be the first black actress to play the iconic role of Batwoman on television, and as a bisexual woman, I am honoured to join this groundbreaking show which has been such a trailblazer for the LGBTQ+ community.
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Rose surprised fans back in May, announcing she would be stepping down from the role of Kane after the show’s freshman year. It was believed that Rose was stepping down due to behind the scenes issues concerning a back injury during filming, though the rumour has since been debunked as the reason for her departure.
Rose first appeared under the cowl in 2018’s annual Arrowverse crossover event, entitled “Elseworlds” that year. The crossover seen Grant Gustin’s Flash and Stephen Amell’s Green Arrow swap lives, which prompted them to call upon Melissa Benoist’s Supergirl for assistance, their adventure taking them to Gotham City in part two where they met Rose’s version of Batwoman.
Though Kate Kane will no longer appear in the show, her presence, or more fittingly her disappearance, will loom over the show.
Showrunner Caroline Dries released a statement on Twitter not longer after Rose’s announcement, making it clear that the character of Batwoman will still be played as and portrayed by a member of the LGBTQ community.
In the same statement Dries said that although Kate Kane will no longer appear on the show, her presence – or more fittingly her disappearance – will loom over the show. She mentions that Kate Kane will not be erased from the show and that:
In fact, her disappearance will be one of the mysteries of season two.
Batwoman will return to The CW in the US sometime in January 2021, airing sometime later in the UK on E4.