New CW Promo Art Removes Ruby Rose’s Batwoman

A new iteration of The CW’s 2021 schedule graphic is available online now, and it removes the face of former Batwoman star Batwoman. It’s obvious at first glance, since The CW’s schedule imagery uses close-up images of their main characters, and when the 2021 schedule was originally announced back on May 14, the image included Ruby Rose’s Batwoman at the top right. Sometime between then and now, the character’s image was removed and replaced with the Bat-signal. No other changes have been made to the schedule, which also includes images of Superman (Tyler Hoechlin), Archie Andrews (KJ Apa), The Flash (Grant Gustin), and more.

The CW’s digital upfront presentation, where the schedule for next year was officially announced, happened before the Batwoman season finale. Following the finale, Ruby Rose and Warner Bros. TV mutually announced that they have parted ways ahead of the series’ second season.

You can check out a side-by-side comparison in my tweet below.

Rose left the series without any real explanation as to what happened, and so rumors have flourished regarding the decision. Warner Bros. TV and The CW have committed to getting the show back on the air by January 2021, with a new lead who is also a member of the LGBTQ+ community.

“Kate Kane (Ruby Rose) never planned to be Gotham’s new vigilante, but with Batman missing and the city in despair, Kate has armed herself with a passion for social justice and an arsenal of high tech weapons, soaring through the shadowed streets of Gotham as Batwoman. At the end of the first season, Crows Commander Jacob Kane (Dougray Scott) has declared a war on Batwoman, forcing everyone around them to choose sides. Meanwhile, Batwoman’s arch-nemesis Alice (Rachel Skarsten) is focused on acquiring the one thing that can take down the Bat, pulling off her most devious plan yet with the help of Bruce Wayne’s former best friend Tommy Elliot, now terrorizing the city as the villain Hush.

Season two kicks off with a major game-changer that will alter Gotham and The Bat Team forever. As the dust settles, Batwoman has everything working against her – including the recently escaped rogues’ gallery of villains – and everyone will come to see her in a whole new light. Alice meets her match when she becomes entangled with a dangerous foe from her past who knows exactly how to prey on her vulnerabilities. As Luke (Camrus Johnson) and Mary (Nicole Kang) find their footing as sidekicks, a romance will shake up their dynamic. Meanwhile, Sophie (Megan Tandy) and Julia’s (guest star Christina Wolfe) budding relationship will face its first real test and make Sophie question everything she thought she knew to be true.”

It’s safe to assume that that foe is probably Safiyah, the leader of the pirate nation of Coryana who has been teased throughout Season 1.

“We know viewers are like, ‘This show is only missing one thing, and it’s lesbian pirates,’” showrunner Caroline Dries recently told ComicBook.com. “I love the Safiyah storyline in the comics, and we knew we wanted to bring her in at some point. But we didn’t want to waste her or blow out her character in Season 1 when there are all these other hijinks happening. So we’re really kind of teeing her up to be our baddie in Season 2.”

You can see Batwoman‘s first season on HBO Max, as well as on The CW’s website.