Batwoman Showrunner Reveals Why They Are Creating a New Character Instead of Replacing Ruby Rose’s Kate Kane

The past few weeks have been a bit of a roller coaster for fans of Batwoman. Last month it was announced that Ruby Rose would not be returning for the second season of The CW Arrowverse series and that the role of Kate Kane/Batwoman would be recast. Then, earlier this week a new casting call surfaced that suggested that the show would instead move on from Kate Kane and bring a whole new character to Batwoman’s cape and cowl. Now, series showrunner Caroline Dries explains why.

During the virtual ATX Television Festival (via Give Me My Remote), Dries explained that while they did consider going forward with a recast of Rose’s Kate Kane and episodes of Season 2 had already been written, executive producer Greg Berlanti helped her make the call to go a new direction with the heroic character.

“So, to be honest with you, I did consider the soap opera version for a hot minute, selfishly, because we had a couple episodes already written, and transition-wise, it would be seamless [since] we already started breaking season 2,” Dries said. “But upon further reflection, and Greg helped me make this call and he’s way smarter than me about this sort of stuff, he’s like, ‘You know, I think we should just reboot the character in terms of reboot Batwoman as a different character.’ Just to also respect everything that Ruby [Rose] put into the Kate Kane character.”

If the casting notice that surfaced earlier this week is accurate, the reboot of Batwoman will be a very different character. First discovered on Reddit, the casting call sought an actor for a character called Ryan Wilder described as someone who “is about to become Batwoman. She’s likable, messy, a little goofy and untamed. She’s also nothing like Kate Kane, the woman who wore the bat suit 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.”

As for what impact a reboot of the Batwoman character will have on the series, it’s possible that Batwoman‘s second season will be very different when it debuts in January 2021. The first season of Batwoman centered strongly around the intersection of Kate Kane’s personal life and her heroic life. As the cousin of Bruce Wayne/Batman, Kate had easy access to the resources needed to serve as Gotham’s protector not to mention the dramatic elements offered by the antagonistic relationship between Crows leader Jacob Kane — Kate’s father — and Batwoman as well as the fact that the primary villain on the series was none other than Kate’s long-lost twin sister Alice/Beth (Rachel Skarsten). The connection made for a very personal conflict between the characters, one that left Season 1 on quite a cliffhanger with Alice enacting her most devious plan yet to go after Batwoman by giving Tommy Elliot/Hush Bruce Wayne’s face. The idea of a Batwoman that isn’t Kate Kane already has some fans wondering how — or if — the series will be able to work in those personal connections that were such an integral part of the series.

Batwoman will return January 2021.

What do you think about Batwoman opting not to recast Kate Kane? Let us know in the comments below.