“Batwoman” will move forward with a new lead star for season 2 but the series doesn’t plan to erase Kate Kane or Ruby Rose from the show’s history…
When Ruby Rose announced that she wouldn’t be returning for “Batwoman” season 2, there was an immediate reaction to recast her role and just find a new person to play the role of Kate Kane.
Instead, the producers behind the CW series opted to begin a casting call for a brand new character named Ryan Wilder, who would instead take up the mantle of Batwoman in the second season when the show returns in 2021.
“Batwoman” showrunner Caroline Dries admits her first instinct was just replacing Rose and keeping Kate Kane as the main character moving forward but eventually she opted to move in a different direction.
“To be honest with you, I did consider the ‘soap opera version’ [of recasting] for a hot minute, because selfishly we already had a couple episodes written, and transition-wise it would be seamless,” Dries said recently. “But upon further reflection — and I think [executive producer] Greg [Berlanti] helped me make this call — he’s like, ‘I think we should just reboot Batwoman as a different character.’”
While casting calls continue to find Ryan Wilder, Dries also released a separate statement on Twitter to clear up any confusion about what will happen with Kate Kane now that Rose is gone from the show. Rather than killing her in some off camera moment that would disrespect the history of the show, Dries says Kate’s disappearance will instead play a pivotal role during “Batwoman” season 2.
“As a lesbian who’s been working as a writer for the past fifteen years, I’m well aware of the “Bury Your Gays” trope and I have no interest in participating in it,” Dries said. “That’s why it’s important to me as the showrunner to clarify any misinformation out there about Kate Kane and recasting Batwoman.
“Like you, I love Kate Kane – she’s the reason I wanted to do the show. We’ll never erase her. In fact, her disappearance will be one of the mysteries of season two. I don’t want to give away any of our surprises, but to all our devoted fans, please know that LGBTQ+ justice is at the very core of what Batwoman is and we have no intention of abandoning that.”
A note from me on behalf of The Bat Team… pic.twitter.com/V6iXjaCrA5
— Caroline Dries (@carolinedries) June 10, 2020
There’s no word on how quickly “Batwoman” will look to fill that lead role but production on the show is expected to start later this year now that the film industry is beginning to move again in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. All of the original CW series were pushed back from a fall 2020 debut date until early 2021 so the producers behind “Batwoman” have a little more time to find the right person to take over for Rose in the lead role once the show resumes filming.
