Home TV News Casting Report Suggests New Character Will Replace Kate Kane As ‘Batwoman’

Casting Report Suggests New Character Will Replace Kate Kane As ‘Batwoman’

by Dave Elliott

Casting Report Suggests New Character Will Replace Kate Kane As ‘Batwoman’

It would appear that the new Batwoman won’t be a straight switch with some side comments about “have you got a new haircut?”, but leaked casting reports suggest that it will be totally new character under the cowl when the show returns for a 2nd Season.

When the news dropped that Ruby Rose was leaving the role of Kate Kane in ‘Batwoman’, most of the media were reporting that the show would just recast the role of Kate and have a new actress take over. However, as we mentioned in the initial story, that isn’t what the show’s producers actually said. Their exact words were that they would be “casting of a new lead actress”, not that they would be directly switching in a new actress to play Kate… and it seems we were correct.

According to the casting notice, which had been leaked to various media outlets, they are looking for someone rather different to take up the mantle of the Bat. In the notice, she’s listed as “Ryan Wilder”, a woman in her mid-20s, any ethnicity, described as “likeable, messy, a little goofy and untamed. She’s also nothing like Kate Kane, the woman who wore the batsuit 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.”

“Ryan Wilder” is not a name from currently DC Comics canon, so it’s possible this could be a cover name for an existing DC character, or it could be an entirely new invention for the tv show, which might ruffle the bat ears of some DC Comics purists. Whilst Kate Kane is the best known of the comic book Batwoman, there have been a few variations over the years, but they have mainly been via alt-history timelines or one-off stories. There is the original Silver Age Kathy Kane, along with her niece, Bette Kane, who both wore the suit (the latter becoming hero Flamebird). In a 1998 JLA story Selina Kyle (aka Catwoman) donned the Batwoman, and in a 2019 Young Justice story, Stephanie Brown (aka Spoiler/Robin) was the Batwoman from Earth-3.

It is an interesting move for the ‘Batwoman’ producers though, give so much of Season 1 was built around the family connections of Kate Kane. Her relationship to the main villain Alice, her father being the leader of The Crows, and her ex-girlfriend working for her dad. If this casting call turns out to be correct, it will be very interesting to see what else they change moving forward, and how they slot a new character into the mix.

Batwoman‘ Season 1 is currently airing on E4 in the UK.

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