Batwoman just ended its first season on The CW and now, the Arrowverse series is looking for a new actress to fill out the heroine’s iconic scarlet wig and cowl. It was announced on Tuesday that Ruby Rose, who brought Kate Kane/Batwoman to life for The CW series is exiting Batwoman after just one season. The series, which has been renewed for a second season and is expected to debut in January 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic, will continue just with the title role to be recast, according to Deadline.
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Rose said in a statement that the decision to leave Batwoman was not one that she made lightly.
“I have made the very difficult decision to not return to Batwoman next season,” Rose said in a statement “This was not a decision I made lightly as I have the utmost respect for the cast, crew and everyone involved with the show in both Vancouver and in Los Angeles.”
“I am beyond appreciative to Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter and Caroline Dries for not only giving me this incredible opportunity, but for welcoming me into the DC universe they have so beautifully created,” she continued. “Thank you Peter Roth and Mark Pedowitz and the teams at Warner Bros. and The CW who put so much into the show and always believed in me. Thank you to everyone who made season one a success – I am truly grateful.”
Rose first took on the role of Batwoman for the Arrowverse’s “Elseworlds” crossover event in 2018 and, shortly after her casting, Rose opened up about how getting the role as the superhero was very emotional for her as it allowed her to play an openly gay superhero, something that let her be for others what she needed to see on television as a child.
“I get to be Batwoman,” Rose said at the time. “I feel like the reason I kept getting so emotional was because growing up watching TV I never saw someone on TV that I could identify with, let alone a superhero. [Tearing up] I said I wouldn’t do that and I’ve always had this saying, well not me, Oscar Wilde, which is ‘be yourself because everyone else is taken’ and so I always lived by that motto and the second motto when I came into the industry was ‘be the person that you needed when you were younger’ and I feel like one motto sort of led me to the other and I just kept crying about it.”
Berlanti Productions and WBTV thanked Rose in their own statement and said that they are “firmly committed” to the show’s second season.
“Warner Bros. Television, The CW and Berlanti Productions thank Ruby for her contributions to the success of our first season and wish her all the best,” the two companies said. “The studio and network are firmly committed to Batwoman‘s second season and long-term future, and we — along with the show’s talented creative team — look forward to sharing its new direction, including the casting of a new lead actress and member of the LGBTQ community, in the coming months.”
Batwoman will return with new episodes January 2021.
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